The French Person Of Interest
by Rania760
Summary: A French lady just lands at New York airport and already appears as an irrelevant number in the Machine radar. Finch and John are dealing with a few information about her. Will this number disrupt their life and their friendship? None of the characters belong to me.
1. Chapter 1 French-Made Number

This is my first story. I write an adventure where John Reese is a more free spirit in front events an OC is going to live. He thinks to be in control as always, but he will be under influence. In some sort I wanted another John, doing his work conscientiously as usual but bringing to life again quite unexpectedly.

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Chapter 1

New York 2013 July.

As usual, John stopped to the coffee shop to buy the Sencha green tea for Harold and two black coffees, one for Shaw and one for him. This morning the air was fresh as it had rained in the night but this didn't bother him, the sun was soon rising and dissipating the tiny cold atmosphere. He arrived at the library and climbed upstairs where Harold stood with his arsenal of computers and wires.

"Good morning Harold." John said posing the teacup on Harold desk.

"Good morning. You're in a good mood, Mr. Reese."

"I am. I woke up this morning and felt, took me a while to put my finger on it, but I felt happy. Must be this job. Hey Shaw, good morning here your coffee."

"Morning, thanks." Shaw grumbled.

"Are you okay Shaw? "Asked John.

"Not your business." She answered with an angry look, grabbing her cup and turning back in the corner where she stood first. She was dealing with a difficult case that struggled her mind as Harold recalled her some rules she might comply with, but she was reluctant to.

"Any number this morning Harold?" John asked.

"Yes, it's just arrived now. The Machine told that it's a French citizen. This is a first for us."

The image of the number exited from the printer and Harold pinned it on the glass board, saying:

"A French lady named Elisabeth Adrian."

John watched the image and couldn't help him to think that she looked very pretty and attractive. Long brown hair with auburn sheen, well-designed eyebrows, soft hazel-green doe eyes, pretty little nose, fleshy lips and bright smile. All in appearance told that she seemed soft and intelligent.  
In a flash, he remembered a report he read about French women in a people magazine that said they were the best lovers in the world. Caressing his chin he smirked and lightly shook his head. It was neither the time nor the place about a fantasy he never thought before this morning.

Harold looked at John, reading his pensive face and said:

"For the moment all we know about her is that She. Is. Pretty., her name, her nationality and that her flight is about to land at JFK airport soon. We don't know if she's the victim or the perpetrator, but we will soon be aware".

"So we have to be at the airport as soon as she arrives and to follow her everywhere she goes. She must have rented a flat or a room in a hotel or someone can take her on her arrival, perhaps, she has some family living here." John said.

"John, the flight landed at 9:00 am you must immediately go to the airport, in the meantime, I will try to gather information on our number in the French databases. I will keep you informed as soon as I get it. Take the keys of the SUV and keep the focus on the mission." He insisted on an emphatic tone.

John drank his barely warm coffee and forwarded outside the library. In the inside parking, he motioned toward the black SUV, entered in the driver seat and started the car. He sped up outside and melted into the traffic toward the JFK airport.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch dialed him.

"Yeah Harold, I've just arrived at the airport, have you some news about our number?"

"Yes, Mr. Reese I got some background on our number, the least I can say is that it's eloquent and varied:  
She is thirty-three years old. Born in Nice the Azur Coast famous sunny city in the South of France, well-known for its "Promenade des Anglais" Avenue. Unique child of Samuel Adrian, military, deceased in 2003 in Afghanistan, and Marie Adrian born Riviere, teacher, tragically taken off in a car accident in 2012 where Ms. Adrian was severely injured.

In 2004, she is graduated as five degrees High School French Letters Teacher. In the meanwhile, she obtained a doctorate in Information Technology and Network Communications. In 2005 January she enlisted in the French army in the town of PAU and followed a hard training in the IRIS formation which supported French Special Forces Operations in war conflicts. Why she enlisted is a question, she had huge opportunities with her graduate diploma.

In 2007 January she joined in Afghanistan a SIC section to install and arm tactical command post, that means that she deployed the network master station and the tactical data-link on the ground. She acted as a radio transmitter operative during ground operations with Special Forces groups both French, English and Americans.  
In 2009 December she quit after five years of national services.

Then until 2012, she worked at Sophia Antipolis Technology Center as an Expert Network IT Engineer. When her mother died she sold the family home and went to Paris where she taught French Letters in Paris-Sorbonne University. As you see, she is an intelligence gifted being and a restless mind. I would never have expected to find such rich pieces of life at first sight."

"This is stunning, a lady being a soldier among the Special Forces in a terrorist land! She has more than a string to her bow. We don't know why she came to New York, holidays, business, perhaps she has some family here." John was surprised by the precise background Harold discovered.

"With the names of her mother and father, I am going to find if she's linked to people here. Please, Mr. Reese, keep me inform when you get her to the airport."

"Okay, Harold." John cut the call.

While speaking with Finch, John arrived at the airport and found the arrival/departure board. The flight from Paris had just landed, so he steered toward the place where luggage was supposed to be collected by their owners.

He was waiting for twenty minutes when he saw her coming with a cabin suitcase and her phone in her hand. The French lady was more than pretty. He judged she was 5,6 feet tall. She was dressed in something that suited her to perfection. Very elegant in a fluid dark blue pantsuit with a white blouse, a dark blue jacket and blue and white ballerina shoes. She stood before the carousel to collect her luggage, moving her head to see the first new sight of New York inside the airport. John walked toward her, discretely melting with other people. When he reached to stay near behind her he cloned her phone and moved backward away to keep him anonym in the crowd. She frowned and looked at her phone at it unexpectedly lighted up and turned to scrutinize back herself.

'Hum, careful reflex' John though, smiling and nodding. He tapped his earpiece to dial Finch.

"Harold, I got her and cloned her phone. Have you some more information?"

"She had an aunt Jeanne Riviere here in New York, her mother's sister, she died last month. She was the founding CEO and owner of the Riviere Company which is a distributor of luxury products with research and development section. She had divorced after ten years of marriage, she had no children."

"Yeah, but we get no clue about her to stay here. The only thread is that her parents are dead, her aunt owned a Company in New York and just died. Please have you the address of the Company building and the Riviere's home?

"I forward them on your phone. We have to wait for a clue to hope a lead on the mobile of her travel. John, be careful, we don't know yet why she is here, so this can be a simple case or a complicated one, she is a skilled and intelligent person. We can't avoid the case she might be eventually the perpetrator."

Elisabeth collected her luggage she recognized by the blue-white-red ribbon she tied on the handle and walked towards the exit of the airport when her phone rang. She immediately answered the call and smiled hearing a friendly voice.

"Lisa c'est Paul, etes-vous bien arrivee a New York? Comment s'est passe votre vol?"  
(Lisa it's Paul, do you now arrive in New-York? How was your flight?)

"Paul, comme je suis heureuse de vous entendre . Je viens juste d'arriver et tout est pout le mieux. Merci."  
(Paul, I'm glad to hear from you. I just arrived and all is okay. Thanks.)

"J'ai reserve une chambre pour vous a l'hotel Mondrian 444 Park Avenue au coeur de Manhattan, prenez un taxi, installez -vous et prenez votre temps, reposez-vous et rappelez-moi demain matin. Nous ferons le point sur votre rendez-vous. "  
(I booked you a room at Mondrian Hotel 444 Park Avenue, in Manhattan Center, take a cab, install and take the time, rest and call me back tomorrow morning. We will review your appointment.)

"Paul, je vous remercie de votre aide, vraiment vous etes adorable. Je vous rappelle demain. Bye Paul."  
(Paul, I thank you for your help, you are really sweet. I will call you back tomorrow. Bye Paul.)

"Bye Lisa."  
John tapped his earpiece to dial Finch. He and Harold understood the French language.

"You heard the conversation, Harold."

"Yes, I did Mr. Reese. She has a business purpose in coming here. The guy seemed to support and guide her. The words he used were deprived of tender feelings so, I supposed there is no relationship between them but rather he may be an adviser, a lawyer, something like that. He was guiding and methodical in his words. We will know more tomorrow when she will call him back. "

"Harold, book me a room near hers in that hotel. She seems wary and I don't like that. When I cloned her phone she scanned around her as she suspected she was spied. In plus, she will probably meet people at her appointment so someone knows she has arrived."

"Mr. Reese, she worked with the Special Forces in a menacing environment, she is used to being wary. I suppose you enjoy cat and mouse game, however, don't be had. You must keep you unseen unless extreme circumstances don't let you the choice. Mr. Warren your room is booked, number 110, our number's is 111."

"Thanks, Harold, I have to go." John hanged up.

He strode to the parking to retrieve the SUV and when he came outside the parking he saw her climbing in a cab. He followed the cab to the Mondrian Hotel, parked the SUV a block further and stepped to the entrance of the hotel. She was already entering the elevator, so he motioned to the desk to ask for his booked room.  
His key card in hands, he looked at the floor number where the elevator stopped, the tenth. His room is on the tenth floor too. Harold was an ace in computer hacking, John smirked as his ingenious boss made most of the things possible with ease and accuracy.

Lisa entered her room and soon she showered and fell on her bed to rest. When she woke up it was 3:00 pm. She unpacked her things and decided to visit some famous places in the city.  
She dressed in casual clothes, a red tee-shirt, blue jeans, and sneakers and went out of her room. Down in the lobby, she asked the receptionist how she could go by visiting some places in NYC. He showed her the New York City Pass document and told her that hop-on, hop-off buses were dedicated to the visits each half hour and took clients in front of the hotel in few minutes. The Pass was valuable nine days for visiting Empire State Building, Top of the Rock, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Statue of the Liberty and Ellis Island, Memorial Museum of September 11th, Air & Space Museum, Circle Line Cruises. She bought the City Pass and went out to wait for the bus.

When John heard she went out of her room, he followed her into the corridor. He also bought the city Pass and waited inside for the bus. The bus arrived, she climbed into it and sat on the front. He climbed by the back door and sat in the bottom. The bus stopped at the Rockefeller Center. She entered the building and took the elevator, John hurried after her in the same lift turning his back to her. The lift stopped at the seventieth floor, John went out the first and walked to an opposite corner where he had sight on her. After one hour of seeing, looking in the field glasses and taking photos she decided to get down to the floor 0 where she bought a coffee and a gourmet sandwich. John was also hungry so he did the same. She walked in the large hallway eating and drinking, then discarded the paper and plastic glass in a waste-basket. She admired the shops and decided to enter a woman clothes one.

John entered the large shop and watched her through the stands of dresses. She chose a black one and tried it in a dressing room. The seller assistant nodded when she got out the dressing room: the dress was tightened around her curves and reached under her knees, a leather belt with a knot, no front cleavage, no sleeves, but when she turned back the dress was closed by a button in the back of the neck and opened till her tiny waist like a cutter would have made an incision in the fabric. He roamed his gaze on her slim figure and judged that she had a good taste in choosing this dress.

Lisa bought a pair of black stiletto three inches high to go with the dress, paid and got out the shop with a pleased smile. She entered the "House of Chocolate" shop and came out with a bag full of chocolate boxes.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch dialed him.

"Yeah Harold."

"I'm just finishing putting a bug and camera in her room. I looked into her computer, I found messages from her lawyer telling her to be ready for a trip to New York and that he will explain her face to face why. She had some nice photos of her in her military uniform in the desert and some others in a cocktail dress, some images of her parents and friends. Nothing interesting about their things. You will find a computer in your room to vision the images in hers. I will too, but we must respect her privacy as usual. I brought a bag of change clothes and toilet set for you and put it in your room. Where are you now, Mr. Reese?"

"On the floor 0 of the Rockefeller Center. She visited the Rock Observation Deck then drank a coffee and ate a sandwich then she made shopping in the shops, and I hoped we are ending the visits for today." John sighed.

"You said 'we' ?"

"Yes, I discretely visited and waited for her, everywhere she was, Finch. What do you think? I know how to do my job. I didn't let her out of my sight." John answered with a bit of irritation.

"Call me when you turned back at your hotel. Good end afternoon Mr. Reese." Finch disconnected the call.

Lisa was now climbing into the bus, John too. The bus melted into the traffic toward the Empire State Building. John ran his hand through his hair, it was 7:00 pm and the visits ended at 02:00 am. He was going to admire NYC in the daylight, at sundown and by night, he was sure.

And hop, the elevator till the top of the building, merging him into the crowd of visitors. She enjoyed to look out on New York City from 1,050 feet above the bustling streets below.  
As he predicted, she stayed on the top until the sunset where colors covered the city in yellow, orange and red. Then she stood still when lights began to sparkle in the skyscrapers making them look alike giant Christmas trees in the night. Finally, at 11:30 pm, she decided she had enough for today and turned her way down the floor 0. They took the bus, her in front, him in the bottom. When she entered the hotel she greeted the clerk with a content smile. While he strode the hotel lobby John dialed Finch.

"Harold, I hope I don't wake you. I'm back at the hotel. I didn't see anything wrong today."

"I was waiting for your call. Please, you turn on the computer, to watch and listen to the camera records, activate the application 'Secret Spy', the password is the same as your computer login with a slash at the end. You don't have to stay in front all the night, the application is parameterized to message and bleep your phone and mine if unusual movements or noises are captured. You can sleep, almost in one ear, I know you. Goodnight Mr. Reese."

"Thanks, Harold, goodnight."

In her room, she could order a light cold dinner despite the late hour. She quickly showered and wore her night clothes. Already in his room, John turned on the computer and ran the application to watch and listen to the camera records. He saw her in her short pajamas then she ate her dinner. He had himself ordered a cold dinner. Then it was time to rest, John was tired and he drifted into sleep watching her doing the same.

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Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. Chapter 2 The Legacy

Lisa is informed of her appointment. Suddenly her life is going to change direction. Will she comply with her future?

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Chapter 2

Lisa woke up at 06:00 am, the light was flowing into her room and traffic started to be noisy.  
She got off her bed. She woke up her computer and searched for the tonic music of the Queen group. On the balcony, she began her daily workout routine as she learned and did in her army sessions. Along with the best songs 'I Want to Break Free, Innuendo, Too Much Love Will Kill You, Killer Queen, The show must go on, We will rock you/ we are the champions' she practiced exercises to keep a good mobility, to be as strong as possible, to be fast and have a good endurance. With her body weight, she made forty push-ups. After thirty minutes of training, she laid back on the floor, her legs against the guardrail she practiced stretching exercise for ten minutes.

John was already up and followed the workout with interest and admiration, her training based on the soldier required physical key skills gave her a fine muscular figure.

She entered the bathroom, undressed and showered for long minutes. She went out of the bathroom, naked.

At this moment John blushed and looked away during a few times. Looking again at the computer, she had dressed in tee-shirt and jeans. He heard her dialing her phone.

"Bonjour Paul, c'est Lisa. Comment allez-vous? "  
(Hello, Paul, it's Lisa. How are you?)

"Lisa, bonjour, j'attendais votre appel. Le rendez-vous aura lieu demain 10 H, heure de New York, chez Maitre Roman Jackson, 2 Park Avenue, 20eme etage.  
(Lisa, hello, I was waiting for your call. Your appointment will be on tomorrow 10:00 am New York time, in the building of Attorney Roman Jackson, 2 Park Avenue, 20th floor.)

C'est une pointure en ce qui concerne les affaires. Il parle francais, ce qui est non negligeable.  
(He is an ace concerning business. He speaks French, that's significant.)

Il exposera le testament de votre tante ainsi que le role que votre mere a joue dans la Compagnie Riviere.  
(He will set out the will of your aunt and your mother's role in the Riviere Company.)

Votre mere et votre tante avait un contrat quand cette compagnie a ete achetee. Votre mere a investi 60% du capital et votre tante 40% et certaines clauses ont ete conclues entre elles deux.  
(Your mother and your aunt had a contract when the company had been bought. Your mother invested 60% of the capital and your aunt 40% and some contract clauses had been finalized between the two.)

Lisa, vous allez heriter de 60% des parts de cette entreprise ce qui va faire de vous un des proprietaires et le potentiel futur PDG.  
(Lisa, you are going to inherit of 60% of the enterprise that will make you one of the owners and the future potential new CEO.)

Je n'ai pas plus de details, si ce n'est que Roman Jackson est l'avocat de longue date de votre tante et semble quelqu'un de confiance."  
(I don't have any more details, that is that Roman Jackson is your aunt's Attorney for a long time and he seems a trusty person.)

" Paul, maman ne m'a jamais parle de cela. Pourquoi un tel mystere?"  
(Paul, mom never talked to me about that. Why such a mystery?)

"Vous le saurez demain, Lisa. Tenez moi au courant. A demain Lisa."  
(You will know tomorrow, Lisa. Keep me inform. Tomorrow Lisa.)

"Bye, Paul."

John immediately dialed Finch.

"Harold, have you heard that?"

"Yes Mr. Reese, she is going to obtain the legacy of her mother probably because of the contract clauses between the two sisters. This can endanger her as she holds now the majority in the company. The success creates enemies. We need a strategy for tomorrow. I propose we both enter the building on Mr. Jackson floor. You discretely keep an eye on the people and movements on the floor and gather clues on the personal and people. I will stay near the office, obtaining an appointment too. What do you think about that, Mr. Reese?"

"I think, it's dangerous to uncover you, Harold. You can't risk being endangered by people whom we don't know anything about for the moment. I am going to operate alone in the building and you can stay outside and warn me about entering people. We can both listen to the meeting."

Finch was touched by John's concern towards him. He accepted his plan.

"Harold, I have to go, she is going out of her room. Call you later." John ended the call.

Lisa went down to the lobby to take a huge breakfast in the restaurant room, she will use a full day to visit the city, she was hungry and needed calories to spend a discovery time.

She ordered sort of continental breakfast: coffee with milk, a warm croissant with jam, fresh bread with butter, yogurt, boiled eggs and a fruit juice. She ate all.  
John sat far behind her and ate full of calories too, sensing that he was going to visit the city full day.

One thing she certainly didn't want to miss was the Statue of Liberty and Liberty Island. She decided to explore them this morning. So she waited for the bus for this visit.  
When John understood she was going to take the ferry and visit the Liberty Lady, he was worried because standard security rules prohibited firearms on the ferry. He couldn't bring his gun when boarding the ferry. No way he gave his gun as he knew it will not be returned.

Finally, John decided to take his car and to follow the bus so he could hide his gun in the glove box. They embarked on the ferry and reached the Liberty Island. She visited every floor and rooms of the museum and she climbed up to the crown. Then she visited Ellis Island and the Immigration Museum, the foundation of the actual US people. When she finished five hours had been spent on these historic monuments. Time was 2:00 pm. She was not finished as she decided after leaving the ferry to visit Ground 0 and the September 11th Memorial. John had followed the bus, driving his car and did the visit far behind her. He was surprised by her energy and her thirst to know all the things about the city, she was a visitor but she was very attentive to the history the guide explained, even she asked questions. John sadly remembered while on a vacation to Mexico, he told Jessica that he had left the Army just as she witnessed the Twin Towers fall on television, and they both realized his career was far from over.

Time turned 6:00 pm. He thought she was done today, almost he hoped so.  
Yes, she came back to her hotel, John tailed the bus. She showered, took her dinner in her room and got to bed exhausted she was, like him as he did the same. Tomorrow, she will go to her appointment to Attorney Roman Jackson's office.

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In the morning after she had the same workout routine, shower, breakfast, at 9:30 am she took a cab to go to 2 Park Avenue.  
Harold and John tailed the taxi and stopped just in front of the building.  
Lisa entered the building then in the elevator, John in her trail. He entered the elevator his back in front of her. He came out the first and let her steer to the reception desk. She introduced herself and informed that she had to meet the Attorney. The assistant dialed and then she guided Lisa towards an office door and opened it.

"Ms. Elisabeth Adrian, Sir."

Lisa entered the office and the assistant closed the door.

John reached the assistant desk and using his charming smile and soft blue-grey baby eyes introduced himself as a client representative and claimed for a quick interview with the Attorney. The girl fell under his spell and let him wait in the hallway. He had a full view of the Attorney office door and the coming and going of personal and people. He sat on a chair in the hallway and activated the microphone of Lisa's phone.

"Harold, I'm in the hallway near the door of the Attorney, I activated the microphone on her phone."

"Well, John. We are near to have concrete information."

When Lisa entered the office of Attorney Jackson, he introduced himself and greeted her to be here. Another man was here, he stood up and introduced himself. Jason Miller, interim CEO of the Riviere Company for several months when her aunt fell ill. They shook their hands.  
They sat in front the Attorney and waited for the will to be exposed. Attorney Jackson went straight to the purpose of the meeting.

"As you know you are here to listen to the will of Jeanne Riviere and I am here to execute what she had decided. I am going to ask you to listen without interruption, questions will be asked later." His voice was clear and sharp.

"Mrs. Jeanne Riviere and her sister Marie were very close. When they lost their parents, Jeanne was twenty and Marie ten. Jeanne the oldest took care of Marie. She sacrificed her personal life to raise Marie, she acted as a substitute mother and drove her toward the adult age with love and dedication. Marie became a teacher and independent. Jeanne met her husband and they migrated to the USA in New York. They founded the Riviere Company with the funds of Jeanne and the funds of Marie that they had saved from the legacy of their parents. Marie afforded 60% of the amount and Jeanne 40%. The two sisters concluded a clause contract like this: if Jeanne died her heirs will inherit the 40% of the Company if Marie died she let the 60% to Jeanne in usufruct in order to not endanger the integrity of the Company and that way to payback Jeanne having made sacrifices to raise her. Today the two sisters are no more among us, rest in peace. So, Ms. Adrian, you inherit the legacy of your mother, that is the 60% of the Riviere Company, which was the investment of your mother. As your aunt had no heirs, you inherit also the 40% of the Company. To summarize the Riviere Company is completely yours. You owned it at 100%.

Now, about the real estate and others goods, you inherit the building walls of the Company and all its furniture, the home, and furniture of your aunt that is a building of five stages in Manhattan Center. You inherit a Sunseeker 75 yacht * based in the port of Nice in France and all the money of her bank accounts and other diverse things that are all inventoried. Have you some questions?"

Lisa was moved by her mother and aunt's scheme. She felt uneasy to be the owner of a company that she didn't know it existed, where she didn't participate in the growing while her aunt had always worked within and decided about the future of it. All the buildings, yacht and money gave her a dizzy feeling.

She looked at Mr. Miller that kept a neutral face. She didn't know how to react.

"I didn't know what to say, it's weird, I think that we must talk about the company more in details." She said looking at Mr. Miller.

"Congratulations Ms. Adrian you are the owner and the new CEO of Riviere Company. " Mr. Miller said.

"That is to say you must be involved in the working of the enterprise as soon as Attorney Jackson will have executed the will. " He concluded.

"It is good to hear that you are all going in the same direction, in these case the execution documents are ready to be signed. Jeanne wished immediate signature and execution. That what you will do here and now Ms. Adrian. Please read the document page 3 and 4 where are redacted the exact share of the enterprise and all your inherited goods. Then you sign, all the pages, you have four copies to sign. I will be back soon." Attorney Jackson stood up and left the office.

John was plunged in a magazine while calling Finch.

"Harold, I think that things may become a little agitated in the future. This Mr. Miller is cold as ice with Ms. Adrian, but he is polite and intended to involve her. But I am sure that he got a knee in the guts. "

"Mr. Reese, in any case, we can't neglect his behavior after that."

"Harold, this sort of guy will not get dirty. First looking in his home, his accounts, the company accounts as we did usually. Have you noticed something outside?"

"Nothing Mr. Reese, and you?"

"Neither I. When she came out of the building, be ready to tail her."

"Who is the boss, Mr. Reese?"

"Harold, I will drive." John chucked.

Attorney Jackson came back in his office fifteen minutes later. John heard his congratulations and that he wished them a strong friendship and collaboration. He assured Lisa to help her in dealing with the tax authorities concerning her legacy and the Immigration Office concerning her visa.

Lisa and Mr. Miller got back to the hallway and he talked about how to introduce her as the new CEO to the Administrative Council members, the major investors, the personal, how to coach her about the objectives of the enterprise, how to take her place in it, and the list was long about the things she had to digest. She wasn't sure she could be the head but she will try because of her mother and aunt's love. When she stepped forwards John, she was saying to Mr. Miller that she agreed with him about the organization of her new status but she had to gather her pieces together to be comfortable with it. She couldn't throw herself at something she ignored, she might study in deep to trust he ability to be up to the line. She asked Mr. Miller to help her in the CEO position that he agreed, he gave her his business card and set many meeting subjects that she had to grant an appointment on. She gave him her electronic mailing address and phone number. While talking, they reached the elevator. It was lunchtime, many persons entered in the lift, allowing John to mix him with them and lifted down the floor 0. Lisa and Mr. Miller shook their hands and split on the sidewalk.

Lisa sent a headache germinating, she needed some fresh air and she decided to walk. John waved at Finch to drive away to the HQ. He was going to tail Lisa alone.  
She stopped two blocks further in front of a vegan restaurant 'Franchia Vegan Cafe', she entered. The restaurant was noisy and crowded but she noticed a table and sat down. She ordered a Spicy Vegetarian Duck Salad and a Chrysanthemum Tea.  
John was hungry and liked Asian food, so instead of waiting outside he entered the restaurant and sat at a table just behind her and ordered a Spicy Vegan Buffalo Wings and a Korean Kloud Beer.  
Forty-five minutes later she got up, she paid the bill and went out.

She decided to breathe some air in Central Park to empty her brains and hailed a cab.  
John quickly hailed a cab too and commanded the driver to follow Lisa's. Raising his brows, the driver looked up at John who showed him the badge that he stole to Marshall Brad Jennings before delivering him to Torreon penitentiary in Mexico.  
Both cabs stopped at the entrance of Central Park. John left a hundred to the driver.

* * *

* Sunseeker 75 yacht - Watch it just for fun, you will see later why: search on 'YouTube Sunseeker 75 Yacht Exclusive Edition'

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	3. Chapter 3 James ONeil

In Central Park, Lisa encountered an old comrade. Souvenirs.

Warning: A little audacious love scene.

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Chapter 3

Lisa walked in Central Park for an hour. She sat on a bench and took her favorite book 'Love Letters Of Great Men', a collection of romantic love poems written by leading male historical figures as Lord Byron and John Keats among others. These old love poems were beyond touching and heartfelt and complied with the romantic side she felt. They often made her tears shed and her heart raced thinking about all the feelings, happiness and even pain these men wrote to their loved ones.  
John stood ten meters from her on a bench, barely interested in a newspaper. He could watch her without her seeing him. Finch just called him to make a status.

Lisa was so into her book that she didn't make attention to the man who stopped in front of her. She heard somebody call her name.

"Lisa? That is you Lisa?"

She looked up and smiling she put her book on the bench and stood up.

"Jim? Hey. "

"Lisa, how are you, what are you doing here?" Jim said, hugging her.

"I'm fine, and you Jim?" Hugging him in return.

"What a wonderful surprise, I never mind encounter you in New York, what are you doing here?" He asked her for the second time.

"I'm visiting, taking some break time, and you?" She said while he held her hands in his with a wide smile.

"I quit the army. I live and work here, Lisa. I don't believe that." Hugging her another time. They laughed together.

John took a photo of the man with his phone and tapped his earpiece to call Finch.

"Harold, there is a guy who is speaking with her, she calls him Jim, they seem like friends. I forward you the photo. He looks like Ryan Reynolds, you know the guy that played the young CIA agent in 'Safe House' film with Denzel."

"I keep you inform Mr. Reese."

John worried that she was not anymore alone and unknown in the city. He listened to the conversation between the two 'friends'.

Lisa lowered her gaze on their hands always joined and saw a wedding ring on his left.

"You are married." She noted, smiling with arched eyebrows.

"Yes, I am." He replied sighing.

"Children?"

"Yeah, two, a boy and a girl, twins." His face lighted up with a large smile. He took his phone and showed her the photo of his children.

"Oh, how cute they are, what are their names? "

"Henry and ... Elisabeth." Intensely gazing at her.

"And this is my wife Jenny."

"She is very beautiful, she looks like an angel." She noticed and admired the beautiful blond lady face.

"She looks like to you, Lisa. And my little girl is named like you because I never forgot you." He whispered with emotion. He put his phone in the pocket of his jacket and again took her hands in his.

"Lisa, what about a dinner tonight or when you wish, we will remind past good times and army souvenirs." Jim kindly invited.

John was annoyed.

"Shit. No, no, say no. " He murmured to himself, his lips thinned.

"Jim, I don't think it's a good idea. I don't wish to bring up the past and the dead from the shadows."

"Good girl." John whispered to himself, relaxed.

"Lisa, don't tell me that our night in Paris is a dead thing from the shadows. We were both really alive and stirring especially when we cried our name all-night-long. Lisa, please, it's just a dinner, a shared evening, I will behave, I promise." He murmured kissing her fingers.

"He insists. Keep calm John. " John mumbled.

"Jim, you have a family, I respect that. I can't, I'm sorry." She coldly answered, slipping her fingers from his hands.

Jim swiftly grabbed her in a tight embrace, he crashed his lips to hers and kissed her tenderly. Taken by surprise she tried to bend backward her head to break the kiss but his hand on the back of her neck firmly maintained her coaxing with him even if she was pushing him off of her.

"Please, Jim stop it." She said in his mouth.

John was ready to intervene in case he continued to harass her.

Jim finally released her with regrets.

"Don't go further. You have a lovely family, Jim. I'm sorry, I have to go." She turned and quickly walked away.

Jim stayed stunned by her coldness and self-determination. He stood still and watched her figure till she disappeared of his sight. Disappointed, he walked in the opposite direction.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch was calling him.

"Finch, she had an affair with him, not long as I understood. He wished to date her tonight but she turned him down. We may have here a bashful lover and/or a potential stalker."

"Mr. Reese, I got some on him. His name is James O'Neil. He is forty-three. He belonged to US Special Forces and toured in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2011 in Operational Detachment Alpha. He operated on the ground with International Forces, French, British, Afghan. He and Ms. Adrian were a part of the same section 574 between 2007 and 2009. When he quit in 2011 he was graded Lt Colonel. Actually married, two children, he lived in New York and worked as a Security expert consultant for the Mayor of New York. Where are you?"

"In Central Park, I'm following her, I hope she knew where is the exit of the park, she is a tireless walker Finch. Yesterday she made visits and shopping all day, she trekked like an athlete ."

"Mr. Reese, I know you are sleepless but don't complain to peacefully visit the city, take it as a blessed time, the calm before the storm." Finch ended the call.

First, Lisa was happy to meet Jim but now she worried about. She disliked he kissed her against her will, she disliked his confident behavior and his disrespect towards his family. She had avoided arguing with him about Paris because she was wrong with him. Afterward, she regretted what she did even if they spent one nice love night, she was not her, she never did like that. She had forgotten and moved one step further in her life. Now he had reminded her this weird evening. She sat down on a tiny bench, bending her head back, crossing her fingers behind her neck, closing her eyes.

* * *

Paris, 2009 December 30th

They came back from Afghanistan in a bomber that landed in the military airport of Villacoublay on 2009 December 30th. After administrative formalities, they agreed for three days stay in Paris. She was quitting the army, he was leaving for three months so they will visit some places in Paris and make some shopping before pulling apart each one in their own private life and family.

They booked two rooms in the 'Paris Notre Dame Saint Germain des Pres' hotel, in the Center of the city. They installed, took a shower, changed their clothes for jeans, pullover, coat. Then they encountered outside the hotel for a walk in the streets. They visited Notre Dame Basilica, the Seine piers. With a cab, they went to the Tour Eiffel, the Trocadero Place, they bought souvenirs for their family. Lisa explained historic stories about monuments to Jim that stared at her with wide eyes, admiring her knowledge of the artistic and history of her country. She acted as a good guide in the French Capital visiting as many places as they could.

At the end of the afternoon, they were exhausted and returned to their hotel. They had a true French dinner that enchanted Jim. Looking at Lisa Jim shyly said:

"Lisa, tomorrow is the last day of the year, we could celebrate the 'New Year' in the best restaurant, it's my treat, do you accept?"

"What restaurant? You don't know Paris!"

"I remarked the Fouquet's restaurant on the Champs Elysees, it would be good for the new year evening."

"It's very expansive and we need to wear very classily. I don't have any dress or shoes for such a place."

"Don't worry I will take care of that tomorrow morning, just give me your dress and shoe size."

"No Jim, you don't have to do this, we can find a cheap one." She insisted.

"Please Lisa, we spent months flirting with death, in the sand and the shit, both in fucking dangerous missions where we saved our ass each other hoping that we might be lucky to watch the sunrise the morning after. I wish to spend this special evening in a smart place in the most beautiful town in the world with you. After we will perhaps never see again. Please, Lisa." He pleaded with puppy eyes.

"Ok, Jim." She sighed, convinced by his plea.

"I'm killed, I think you too. "

"Better to go to sleep. Tomorrow shopping, hue." She smiled.

They wished themselves goodnight and went to their respective room.

The day after, Lisa dialed him at 11:00 am, she was hungry, they decided to eat outside in a restaurant and walk to visit in the afternoon. During the lunch they spoke about some things and others, they joked and laughed. She taught him some French words and phrases and she mocked him about his loud accent. He replied that she had a good English and a charming French accent that amused him, but the main thing was to talk and understand, what they always did. They took a taxi toward the Louvre museum. They admired some famous masterpieces.

Time quickly rounded. He had booked a table at the Fouquet restaurant at 08:00 pm.

"I have nothing to wear for this evening." She exclaimed.

"Yeah, that is what a girl says when she wants her guy to make her a gift." They laughed.

"Don't worry, all is right, I told you yesterday I would take care of that this morning. "

She glared at him, surprised and she blushed.

They returned to the hotel and agreed to meet at 07:45 pm outside the hotel.

When she opened her room Chanel bags were on her bed. She unpacked each bag and she was astonished by the marvelous clothes he chose for her. She admired a long black veiled bustier dress. A satin bow tied between the breasts place, above the bustier, was a grey veil, sleeveless, leaving the sight free from the neck to the cleavage of the bustier, a pair of a black ballerina with a silver tip to go with and a long black wool coat. He even thought of a pair a stocking, a purse, and a perfume bottle. She covered her mouth with her hand, worrying about the cost of these luxury things and the fact that she wasn't his girlfriend to merit this gift but an army comrade. She blew a heavy sigh and was highly annoyed. But she remembered how he pleaded for this Happy New Year evening.

She showered, shampooed her hair, dried, painted in light rosy her fingers nails and toes, used perfume Chanel Number 5.  
Se wore a black panty, no bra, the stockings then carefully the fragile dress. Her breasts were tightened by the fabric but she thought that it was on purpose. The pair of ballerina shoes suited with the dress. She brushed her hair that naturally curled an put light make-up on her face with a touch of rose glossy on her lips. Watching herself in the mirror of the large closet she looked like a top model, beautiful, classy and sexy as hell. Her phone rang, it was Jim.

"Yes Jim, I'm ready." She was late. She put her phone and her room key card in her purse, wore the long warm coat and went out of her room. She made attention to walk normally, with such a delicate wearing it was a difficult exercise.  
Jim was waiting for her, the taxi too.

"Wanted help to dress Lisa?" He chuckled.

She roamed over the length of his tall figure. He was gorgeous in his black suit with a dark grey shirt, a black tie, simple and elegant. His short light-brown hair, his brown piercing eyes, his freshly shaved face and white toothy smile gave him the presence of a movie star, you know the tall seductive Ryan Reynolds.

Really they looked like two 'brand new trucks' as the French wording. She contained her laughter, shaking her head.  
They arrived at the Fouquet's. He helped her to take off her coat and stared at her with an admirative gaze, scanning her figure up and down then up again, pausing on her cleavage. He swallowed hard and murmured:

"You are stunning, more shining that the sunlight in the desert."

She blushed and grinned.

"Thanks. You helped Jim. You are not bad, too." She whispered, locking her eyes with his, drinking his compliment.

He gave her coat to the cloakroom woman. A maitre d'hotel conducted them to their table. Jim assisted her by sitting on her chair and sat across her. They ordered a good meal with Champagne. Jim noted that Lisa got the attention of many men and he was proud she was with him.  
They ate and drank, Lisa talked about the culture of her country, the studies she followed in Nice, her family. He spoke about his family too, sport and his army time.

The clock struck twelve in the restaurant. People kissed each other, crying 'Bonne Annee'.

"Happy new year, Jim."

"Happy new year, Lisa." He stood up and took her hand, she stood up too.

He put his hands on her forearms and bent to kiss her on her cheeks. When she kissed him back he moved his head and their lips met. He kissed her on her lips, taking her in a tender embrace, one hand behind her neck. She kissed him back. She was surprised by his soft and warm lips and surprisingly she felt a rush of heat between her legs. He deepened the kiss, his tongue playing with hers. She broke the kiss and blushed hard.

"Lisa, you know I always had a thing for you since you joined my section. Most of the guys had a thing for you. You have no idea how beautiful and attractive you are and tonight more than ever. Even women in this place are watching you with envy." He whispered in her ear.

"No, women are staring at you, not me. Are you wooing me? " She asked him.

"I'm a man and I like nice things but you are beyond a nice thing, for me you are the most wonderful precious thing."

The pianist began to play 'One More Try', the lights dimmed. He invited her to dance. He tightened her, closer to him, a hand around her waist, his other covering hers on his chest. She felt good in his arms. He was aroused as she felt his erection pressed against her. After two years of frustration in a man's world, without caresses, without hands on her body but hers, without sex, without love, this evening she felt emotionally demanding, she admitted to herself that she was really frustrated. He was caressing her back and her fingers, kissing her forehead, her cheeks. He took her lips in his mouth in a long loving kiss that she never minded he was able to give, rough as he was with her during the missions. The song ended.

"Jim, I want to go." Controlling her breath.

They walked toward the exit, Jim paid the bill and took her coat and put it on her shoulders.  
He hailed a taxi, they reached their hotel without saying a word.  
He accompanied her to her room, she let him come on in. He silently shut the door and immediately grabbed her in his arms and kissed her, first softly, then hungrily with passion and fury. She moaned and kissed him back as if her life depended on it. He pinned her on the wall and grounded his hips against hers.

"Lisa, I want you so bad since so long." He whispered, nipping her neck.

"Jim, get naked." She commanded with a sigh.

Not needing to be told twice he undressed while she undressed. There were both naked, they embraced and kissed with fever. They stepped back towards her bed and fell on it, Jim softening the fall with one arm. He placed her in the middle of the bed and laid him on top of her. Hugging and kissing they were feverish, starved of affection and sex, fighting for control. He kissed her all over her body, from her forehead till her toes, he licked and sucked her breasts and nipples, her belly, her intimate folds, he plunged his tongue into her sex making her cry. She was surprised by the softness of his caresses. She rolled him onto his back and straddled him, she caressed him everywhere, she licked and sucked his cock, bringing him near the edge. Finally, he rolled her onto her back and slid into her inside in one thrust. She cried and breathed heavily as a hurt animal. He smiled at her and kissed her lips.

"It's been a long time for you, hum, me too. I fear that this will not last long." He murmured, cupping her cheeks and kissing her hungrily.

He began to move at a slow pace, completely out of her then in again and again. After long, slow moves his strokes hardened and became faster, he thrust into her over and over till she lost her control, got crazy, her orgasm rising in her belly. She climaxed hard, screaming his name and digging her nails into his back. He continued to pound into her few seconds and came shouting her name.

They stayed minutes sex-connected, coming down their heights. When their breaths became normal, they slid each on their side. He let his arms around her.

"Lisa, you are a wonderful woman. You know, I am not going to let you go." He kissed her with passion. She kissed him back.

"Do you remember when you shot at the guy and saved my life, Lisa? Oh, I know, I always owe you one! Later, you had a so painful stress in your chest that you could barely breathe. You asked me to push on your breastbone directly on your skin to fade the pain as you couldn't do it yourself cause of the bulletproof vest and pile of clothes under. When I burrowed my hand under your uniform and touched your skin I nearly lost my grip. I wanted so bad to kiss you. It was so good to take care of you." His fingers lingered on her jaw, her neck, between her breasts, his mouth trailing light kisses in the same way.

"I remember that you continued to press on my breastbone a long time after I told you that I was okay." She burst out laughing, mussing his hair.

"When you showered at the camp I surprised some guys spying you through the keyhole of the door to see you naked. I have ousted them out then I always paid attention that no one did this again, performing guard duty."

"Oh? You did this. I knew that some comrades were spying on me in the shower and I had plugged the keyhole with a piece of tissue." She remembered.

"They noticed and did several little holes in the door." He confessed.

They made love several times, he gave her pleasure and orgasms, she took and gave back to him.

At dawn, she heard he got off the bed and dressed then he kissed her on her lips and her breasts.

"See you at noon, sweetheart." He whispered. He came out of her room.

She woke up at 11:00 am. Lisa felt that he was falling for her. But she was not, she only needed to have a man in her bed tonight, he was gorgeous, loving, gentle but she didn't feel butterflies in her stomach.

She got off her bed, showered, dressed her in casual clothes. She packed her personal things.  
Then she carefully packed the Chanel clothes and things in the Chanel bags.

She dialed the "Gare de Lyon" ( train station of Lyon) to be informed about a train Paris-Nice departure time. Then, she called Jim to tell him that she was going to take a train at 04:00 pm.

Soon she heard a knock on her door. He was there, shaken.

"Why do you run away now? What did I do wrong?" He said in a broken voice.

"You did nothing wrong, Jim, I spent a wonderful evening and night but I have to go home as you have too, right? I can't stay here any longer." Caressing his jaw.

"Stay with me one more day, Lisa. It's too violent you go away like that."

"We spent two years together in Afghanistan, two days in Paris, and a magic night but for the moment I am not able to give you more. I need my family and I'm sure you too. Our ways split here and now Jim, I'm sorry to not have more time for you." She admitted.

"I need you, Lisa. I longed for you for two years, I hoped during two days you liked me, I made love to you all-night-long because I desired to be with you above all. Doesn't this matter to you?"  
She didn't feel the same feeling as him. She kept a neutral tone and face.

"I must be at the train station at 03:30 pm. Please take the Chanel bags. You are gentle to give me these luxurious things but I want you to keep them, you know."

They both had a silent lunch in the hotel restaurant, then it was time for her to go. She paid for the nights she stayed at the hotel and ordered a taxi.

"I want to come with you to the train station to say goodbye." He sadly whispered.

At the train station he tried to convince her to join him in New York later, he said that he was attracted to her and falling in love with her. She let him hug and kiss her one last time. She entered in her train and waved at him from the window.

"I will never forget you, Lisa. I just realize that some people can stay in your heart but not in your life." He said blowing her a kiss, keeping back unshed tears.

"Goodbye Captain, take care of you." She gave him a respectful military salute.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	4. Chapter 4 Drink-Dance-Drug

Lisa goes to relax in a bar. First encounter with John.

* * *

Chapter 4

Forty minutes passed and John sensed that she wasn't in the previous mood. She seemed worried. She had forgotten the book she was reading on the bench where this Jim appeared. John had collected it and put in the pocket of his jacket. She stood up and walked toward the park exit. She returned to her hotel in a cab.  
In her room, she read her emails and Mr. Miller didn't have wasted time to focus her on tasks she will execute to plant herself in the scenery. He sent her a detailed diary and asked her acknowledgment. She answered him that she was okay with the schedule. Why would have she argued? These were things to do anyway.

John dialed Finch to warn him that she was mailing on her computer so Finch will proceed to hack her messages instantly.

"Mr. Reese, I'm already on it before she turns off her computer. Tomorrow morning she will visit the enterprise and meet the staff at the same time. The manager of each department will explain to her the manufacturing process and introduce her to each member of his team. This may take half a day because there are two hundred people in the building. In the afternoon, she will be attendee the monthly Administrative Council meeting.  
The day after, she will go shopping with Mrs. Miller in some great fashion designers stores, on Saturday evening she is invited to the Mayor's party standing at 583 PARK AVENUE located 63rd Street and Park Avenue to meet the Mayor and some main investors. She is going to be completely drowned in her new CEO character, I hope she knows how to swim or float otherwise she will need some kiss of life."

"Who will give her the kiss of life, you or me?" Chuckled John.

"The first-aid certificate holder, of course. Do you have it?" Finch questioned.

"Yes, I do."

"So, you won. You will take your chance since we will be invited too." Harold announced in a good mood.

They both giggled and disconnected. Sometimes Finch showed some offbeat humor that relaxed John.

Time was 07:00 pm. She ordered her dinner in her room. She showered and dressed in the black dress and stiletto heels she bought at Rockefeller Center Hall. She needed to empty her brain and get some drink somewhere. John put his jacket and his gun in the back of his waistband and tailed her in the street. She walked on the sidewalk quite a while, admiring the stores, watching the animated crowd still dense at the beginning of the night, admiring the blinking colored neons of the stores, the lighting effects in the sky-scrappers till she stopped in front of a bar crowded of young and middle-aged people, dancing, laughing.

She entered getting a chance to reach the counter and she sat on a bar stool. She ordered a Bourbon Whiskey Blanton and took a sip, glancing at people in the mirror in front of her, back the bar. Young men and women were celebrating a happy event, ones were laughing loudly under the influence of alcohol, others were talking in the leather booths.  
John stood outside watching her sitting at the counter and drinking then he entered, he sat on a bar stool in the opposite corner and ordered a beer.

Lisa envied the friendship and warmth between the people here and thought to her friends she left in Paris and that she missed them a lot. She gulped her drink and ordered another one. She took her glass and she whirled the liquid in it, she tilted her head and roamed discretely her gaze over the patrons on the bar stools. John gave her no chance to spot him as he sat near a column that hid him.

Soon, a nice young guy slid down his bar stool and forwarded to her with his glass. He had a Latino look, black short hair, black eyes, he sat beside her with a soft smile and he began to talk to her. She politely listened to him, nodding and smirking, barely interested in what he was chattering. He took her hand and kindly invited her to dance, she accepted and she slid down her bar stool to follow him on the dance floor. After all, she entered here where people were dancing, why would have she declined. The music slowed, the lights dimmed and the guy embraced her body close to him, they swayed gracefully. Drumming his fingers on the counter John took a close look at her and on the patrons at the counter when he witnessed someone who put something in the glass of Lisa. He immediately shot a photo of the guy with his phone and the guy dancing with her.

'This bastard planned to drug her.' He thought with rage, relieved to be here at this moment. He had no choice but to extract her from this bar as soon as possible. Mixing among the couples on the dance floor he reached her and gripped one of her wrists. She looked at him with surprise, the guy tried to argue but John gave him a deadly glare and said gritting his teeth:

"She's with me."

The guy was impressed by the tall menacing John, he released her and moved backward in the crowd. John softly but firmly took her in his arms that jolted him with shivers down his spine and he walked a few steps towards the exit door. Before he could say anything she strongly revolted pushing him off of her, her hands on his chest to extract herself from his arms. She was powerful but he had superior strength and he swiftly tightened her closer to him with one arm around her waist, capturing her wrists on his chest with his other large hand. She surprised him how she was fighting with him like a wild kitten. Her helplessness to get herself out of his clasp stirred his mouth in a smirk.  
John was planted firmly on his two feet so she couldn't sweep his supporting leg. To avoid a knee-groin he held her firmly closer to him in order she wasn't able to lift a knee, she was trapped like a bee in a spider's web.

"What's the matter with you, why are you doing this, who are you?" She enumerated with anger, her eyes shooting bullets at him.

"Someone who knows what this is about. I'm here to help you. You can't stay here any longer, one man slipped a drug in your glass while you danced with the other, okay? You must go. Come with me." He murmured in a worried voice.

His warm breath brushed her face and made her swallow hard. He towered her one head, he was strong as a bull and he caught her asserting she might be a predator-prey. He really scared her.

"And if it would be you that wanted to trap me with your lies. I don't trust you. Let me go." She replied with defiance writhing against him to pull herself away.

He felt the warmth of her body irradiated through his. He collected himself and with a low tone he said:

"Okay, you don't trust me, stay and drink your glass then you will soon become weak, confused, and even pass out. You may not remember what happened while you were drugged, that you may be sexually assaulted without your consent and raped. Do you trust the other guys in this bar? Let's go."

She widened her eyes and locked them with his, she saw the sincerity in his gaze and stopped moving. John understood that she was shaken. He released carefully her wrists, she didn't push him anymore, then he freed her and put his hand on the small of her back and led them out of the bar after having paid her drinks and his.

"Where do you live? I walk you home." He said innocently.

"I stay at Mondrian Hotel."

"Not too far. We can hail a cab if you wish." He proposed softly.

"No thanks, I need to walk." She looked at him and found that he was a handsome man. He had frightened her at first sight but now she felt safe with him.

During the walk, John glanced behind them once in a while but no one was tailing them. They didn't either speak nor look during the return to the hotel. She was not in the mood to make conversation at the moment and he was silent too, so well this suited to both of them.

When they walked in front of a small bar that seemed quiet Lisa stopped. She turned toward John and said :

"It's only 11:00 pm, I want to stay outside a bit. Please, can we have a drink here?"

"If you wish, no problem." He answered looking around them then in the bar.

They entered in the bar and they sat in the bottom of it, John facing the door. Three patrons were talking at the counter and a romantic couple was staring at each other in a booth.

Soon a pretty waitress came to take their order, her blue eyes wide open with fluttering eyelashes at John and a seducing smile. John looked up at her with a gentle smile and he brushed his temple while he ordered a beer. Lisa ordered a Bourbon Whiskey Blanton as usual because she liked it a lot and she thanked her with a soft smile.

Soon the waitress served their drinks with a quick fixed look at John who thanked her with a smile before turning his gaze to Lisa. Looking at her close up in a lighted space, he found her fresh and beautiful, with a flawless skin and sparkling hazel green eyes.

"My name is Elisabeth but my friends call me Lisa." She introduced herself, not knowing what to say as he was speechless in front of her.

"John, my name is John." He answered, taking his beer and peeling the label with his nails.

"I think the waitress has a thing for you." She teased him.

He shrugged, he didn't care and he sighed while a smirk curled up his lips. He gazed at her with a sharp look as to read in her soul. She felt the sensation he mentally swept her brain to hack her thoughts and she gulped her drink in one go to keep her countenance. John felt her uneasiness and he looked down at his beer.  
She ordered another drink with a sign of her head. The waitress brought her another glass of Bourbon.

"You are going to be dizzy if you drink too much quickly." He said crossing his hands on the table.

She put one elbow on the table, her hand on her cheek and she entered her little finger in her mouth, nibbling it between her teeth. She thought that her life might become complicated and she wondered when would happen something ardent in her life. Strong alcohols fit her purpose tonight.

"I don't intend to be dizzy. You know, I'm forever searching this little moment of grace that we can't live in the normal life and that enhances the reality. I didn't find it yet." She murmured with half-closed eyes.

"You are going to find it when you will meet love, Lisa." This was the only truthful thing that showed up in his mind to give her. John thought that something had wounded her deeply, perhaps a loss that she never needed time to get over it.

"Love isn't a little moment of grace, for me, it's a grace of a lifetime."

She drank her Bourbon while John finished his beer. They stood up and she wanted to pay the bill. John stopped her.

"No, it's my treat. A woman never paid with me." He looked at her softly.

"Wait a moment. I need to go to the restroom." She walked in the direction of the restroom.

After a minute John heard noise in the restroom, he ran toward the door and entered in the restroom and watched a man with a blooding nose who was knelt on the ground grasping his crotch and hissing like a snake. Looking at John Lisa shrugged and said in a serious tone:

"Next time he will keep his hands on him." They both exited the restroom.

She surprised John that she knocked down the tall and fat guy. He raised his brows and nodded to her.

"Your dress is ripped on the side." John noticed how she had beautiful thighs as the seam on the side of her dress had broken.

"Shit. It does show." She deplored, looking at the open dress and trying to draw the two sides closer.

"No shame to show legs when they are pretty. We will hide this till we are outside on the street. Walk against me to hide the ripped side when we crossed the bar, okay?"

She agreed. She stood against his side, he snaked his arm around her waist, holding her firmly. They crossed the bar and they exited outside. Then, she kept some distance from him, he removed his arm from her waist, feeling the loss of it.

After a while, they reached the Mondrian Hotel and entered the lobby clear of any presence.

"I walk you to the door of your room." John commanded.

"Oh...It's not necessary you know."

"Yes, it is, I want to see you enter into your room and shut the door." He insisted on a serious look.

They arrived on the tenth floor and she steered to her door, her key card in hand. She turned toward him :

"Thank you, John."

"You're welcome. Next time, keeping your drink on hand or on sight is the best way to ensure that nothing goes into it. Never take a drink from a stranger unless you watched it be prepared and brought to you. If someone offers to buy you a drink and you accept, go with them to the bar and grab it yourself rather than trust them to bring it back to you. Okay?" He lectured her with his lowest soft voice, bending his head toward hers, his eyes locked with hers.

"Then I drink it down in one go." She answered laughingly, opening her door.

"Goodnight Lisa." John said with a relieved smile.

"Goodnight John." She entered her room and shut the door. 'So beautiful blue-grey eyes he has. And tall and sexy he is.' She shook her head at the thoughts she had about this stranger that just interfered in her life to help her, he said.

John got inside his room like a thief in the night and fell on his bed with a big sigh.  
Despite the lateness of the hour, he dialed Finch.

"Sorry if I wake you, Harold, I had to extract her from a bar where she would have been drugged otherwise. Now, she knows my face but she ignores that I am at her hotel. I send you photos of two guys involved in this stuff."

"Mr. Reese, if you had let her drink her glass, she would never have remembered about you."

"This was not an option for me, she would have been confused, unable to make decisions and she would have acted in a sensual way with me." He answered loudly with anger.

"Mr. Reese, I was kidding. I sense you are sensitive tonight. So you must be very careful to keep a semblance of anonymity to continue the mission. I will search for the two guys if some information is available. Goodnight Mr. Reese."

"Goodnight Finch." John thought to Lisa that escaped a tragic trauma and perhaps serious health problems or even death. If she wasn't aware that this drug could exist that might reveal that she always had a sane life, healthy friends and activities, God bless him to be here with her tonight.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	5. Chapter 5 Lisa and Mr Miller

Lisa and Mr. Miller planned to visit the enterprise and the personal.  
Mr. Miller introduced Lisa to the Administration Council members.  
Lisa did shopping with Mrs. Miller.  
Mr. Miller introduced Lisa to the main investors during a party organized by the Mayor of NY.

Second encounter with John.

* * *

Chapter 5

After her morning routine, workout, shower, dressing, breakfast, Lisa was ready to endure the day with Mr. Miller and visit the Riviere Company and the personal. She chose to dress in a black suit pant with a white blouse to look like a serious manager lady. At 08:30 am Mr. Miller dialed her that he was waiting for her in his car.

To tail Lisa in the building and to stay near her John decided to wore some disguise to look different as she knew his face: glasses he thought would be fine.

He followed her all the time through the departments she visited, always the last in the group of people, scanning the personal, searching for possible threats. After hours of tailing, hundreds of personal and kilometers in the building the personal tour was over. Lisa looked quite glad that this ended as she breathed a huge sigh of relief.  
Time was 01:00 pm she had enough in her brain that was attacked with a headache. Mr. Miller invited her to lunch, politely she accepted and he drove her to an Italian restaurant 'Benito One' in Lower Manhattan, not far from the Riviere building. John liked pasta and mushrooms and he couldn't resist to enter and have lunch at a table behind her.

They returned to the Riviere building at 02:30 pm to attend the Administration Council meeting in which Lisa will be introduced as the new CEO and new boss. She breathed deep before entering the large conference room and John mentally gave her strength to assume her commitment.  
The conference room was equipped with a mobile phone jammer so John didn't be able to listen to the conversations through Lisa's phone. He waited for the end of the meeting. When she came out of the meeting she was radiant with a bright smile. She saluted all the members and when she remained alone her face darkened and she looked ready to cry.

Mr. Miller joined her and said that he knew that some of the members had a sexist mentality. He understood that the first encounter was polite and a little rude and that she wasn't in measure to face unknown persons but he advised her that the next time she might not be so cool, she had a great intellectual capital and diploma, a strong military background and vivid intelligence, more than all of them and she could shut their mouths. And despite she was a woman, she wasn't weak and above all, she was the boss now.

John was pleasantly surprised by Mr. Miller comforting words, but he was used too how the snakes were good in insinuating trust in the mind and then betraying so he will not let him out of his radar.

"Where do you wish to go Ms. Adrian, I can drive you ?" Mr. Miller asked.

"Thanks for all Mr. Miller, I think I am going to take some fresh air."

"You are welcome. Remember that tomorrow you are going shopping with my wife Ilsa at 10:00 am, she will take you at your hotel. Goodbye Ms. Adrian."

"Ok, tomorrow." She gave him a smile and they split.

On the sidewalk, she hailed a cab. She was going towards Brooklyn Bridge to walk the pedestrian way and got an insight of the most beautiful sides of Manhattan. When on the bridge she stopped in the middle and looked down the river. John was moved as going here he remembered how he was close to saying goodbye to the world, jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge and killing himself in one lethal wave when he lost himself after Jessica's death. A fight in the subway with a band of thugs changed the course of events. He met Finch who gave him a job and a purpose in his life. He stared at Lisa who had buried her face in her hands and was silently crying. She was releasing the tension she gathered all the day. He looked at her and understood her sadness but he felt powerless to help her. She was his case and he had to keep the focus on his mission which was to protect her.  
Finally, she turned back and decided to leave the bridge and came back to the hotel. Time was 08:00 pm. She undressed in the bathroom and wore her pajamas. She climbed into her bed and tried to sleep. After midnight she finally slumped into a deep sleep.  
John dialed Finch to report the events of the day. Finch had asked Detective Fusco to investigate the two guys in the bar. Fusco had found that they were brothers Ramirez and they had been accused of minor thefts and aggression in bars. They had been incarcerated in Rikers for some months then released.

John was laying down on his bed and watching her on his computer, he was tired and longed for sleep too. He hoped and even was sure that tonight she would stay quiet, they both needed rest and tranquillity.

* * *

The day after Lisa got off the bed at 8:00 am and as usual, she did her daily workout listening Coldplay this time. After a shower, she dressed and she ordered her continental breakfast in her room. John was well rested this morning, thanks, Lisa. He had showered, dressed and had breakfast. He watched Lisa and wondered how she mentally felt today. He hoped that shopping will enjoy her, women liked shopping. He was in a hurry to see her and come closer to her tonight. What was he thinking? He couldn't act like that. He will be at the party to protect her against any threat. He sighed heavily with frustration.

At 10:00 am Lisa climbed into Mrs. Miller's car and they went shopping in the 5th Avenue. Mrs. Miller led Lisa to Elie Saab store where she bought all her cocktail dresses. This time John waited outside as he had a large sight in the store. Soon Lisa spotted a long black dress and hurried in a dressing room in the bottom of the store to wear it. John didn't see her anymore and was worried, he entered the store to find her. A sales assistant asked him if she could help him to choose something.

"I search .. a couple of women that just entered the store." With his so charming smile.

"Yes, they are in the dressing room in the back of the store. Would you come to see them?"

"Yes, but don't tell them I am here. It's a surprise."

"You're welcome." She answered blinking her eyes.

John glimpsed at Lisa's head only and felt relieved.

Lisa liked Ilsa Miller, she was joyful and friendly and gave her wise advice on the dress she had chosen. The dress was a long evening black bateau neck gown, with short sleeves. The fabric was a sort of veil encrusted with a net of tight meshes and unevenly covered with a host of little knots of tissue leaving here and there glimpses at few small blurred pieces of her body. The fabric was tightened on the upper body, enhancing her tiny waist and pleated on the breasts.

Lisa found that the gown was too sexy for her but Ilsa was ecstatic on how Lisa looked beautiful in it.

"Lisa, you are so romantic and beautiful like a princess in this gown. The sexiness of this gown is softened by your natural class and charm and you will wear underwear and stockings that will hide some of your body. Don't worry about this gown, it is made for you. Your hair in a bun on the nape of the neck, no jewels, a little purse to go with, black stilettos and you will have all the men eating out of your hand and all the women be eaten up with jealousy." She giggled like a school girl.

Finally, Lisa decided to buy the gown with the small evening purse that went with. So the shopping was over she thought and she relaxed. Ilsa invited her to lunch at Cafe SFA Then she drove her to Jimmy Choo store and helped her to choose a pair of black spangled stiletto two inches high.  
Then Ilsa insisted a lot she went to the hairstylist for a hair bun. She agreed and grinned at how Ilsa cared for her.  
John had had trouble to tail them into the traffic and to park his car. He was relieved to see Lisa enjoying time with Mrs. Miller pampering her.

Time was 06:00 pm. Ilsa drove back Lisa to her hotel and told her to be ready for 08:00 pm.

When John entered the lobby of the hotel Finch was comfortably sat in an armchair with two bags.

"Mr. Reese, I was waiting for you, here our evening clothes for the party. I hope I forgot nothing."

"Hi Harold, I went shopping all day and didn't have one second to buy a suit. Hopefully, you think about it."

John carried the bags in his room, followed by Finch. He showered while Finch emptied them.  
For John, there was a complete change of clothes with a white shirt pleated in front, a bow tie, a black tuxedo, breast pocket handkerchief, socks, and shoes.  
Finch complete change was in the same classy style than John's.

Time quickly rounded so they dressed their tuxedos, Finch as usual adjusted the tie bow of John because John annoyed himself about it.

They heard Lisa came out of her room and lifted down in the elevator. They hurried after her and just saw her in the Miller's car that was heading to '583 PARK AVENUE'. John sat in the driver seat of Finch's Lincoln, Finch climbed into the passenger seat, then John took off at full speed making squeal the tires.

"John, you are not in your old 1968 Ford Mustang." Finch huffed.

"What? It's a car! You wanted me to drive." John grinned.

They arrived in front of '583 PARK AVENUE', just to see Lisa's back with the Millers at the entrance.  
They parked the Lincoln in the street and they entered the building.  
The building was the ideal place for all events, galas, receptions, conferences with a ballroom, stages, galleries, and balconies. The ballroom had a large wooden floor with dinner tables around, an orchestra, a bar, a buffet and a great staff of chefs, bartenders, and waiters. A balcony over-hanged at the first stage.

Over three hundred people were sitting at the dinner tables. Mayor Ed Griffin was already present with his wife and some politics whose Alonzo Quinn a political advisor for the Mayor and the Mayor's chief of staff in the Mayor's Office.

Finch and John climbed upstairs to the balcony to be at ease to roam over the guests. The Mayor made an opening speech full of references to the values and the principles of the United States. He paid tribute to the New Yorkers and enterprises that contribute to raising the unaided awareness of the city.

"Harold, someone we know in front of us." John mumbled, targeting O'Neil in a dark grey suit with an earpiece and a phone in his hand.

"Yeah, he supervises the security of the Mayor and his guests tonight. A lot of politics and powerful magnates here and this means a task force to secure the perimeter. Bodyguards must be everywhere outside and inside, on every stage, galleries, and rooms. So don't get into trouble, Mr. Reese."

"Okay, Finch but if I get into trouble it's that someone put me in."

John was scanning the floor in search of Lisa.

"Where is she?" He muttered to himself, but loudly enough that Finch turned towards him.

"Don't worry Mr. Reese, she is in good company."

"I'm not so sure Finch." Then she entered the area flanked by the Miller's couple.

John breathed deep and stared at her like he saw a vision. His heart raced in his chest and his eyes narrowed to focus on her. He swallowed hard and felt his mouth dry. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.  
She looked devilishly feminine and attractive in this sexy black fluid gown that valorized her slender figure. She had no idea how. Many men in the room gazed at her too and stopped speaking to capture the moment.

"Oh my God." murmured an awestruck John feeling a stirring sensation in his pants.

"Oh la la, Mr. Reese, is there an age limit to have the first-aid certificate?" Asked Finch in awe too.

"No, I don't think. Why, you're interested ?" Demanded John winking at him with a smirk.

"Maybe." Finch answered tilting his head.

"Finch, it's too late for a kiss of life to her. Now she really needs management coaching and an expert assistant, you might take your chance." John's lips curved upside in a small smile.

Then John focused on O'Neil. He noticed how O'Neil was staring at Lisa like a big cat on his prey and couldn't tear his eyes away from her. John didn't blame him, she attracted eyes like a magnet.  
O'Neil stroked his hair while talking to his team and moved on the balcony to have the best sight on Lisa and the Mayor.  
Mr. Miller was introducing Lisa to the Mayor as the new owner of the Riviere Company. The Mayor welcomed and congratulated her, he took her hand and he kissed the back of it. He told her that she was the most beautiful jewel in the showcase of her enterprise, that he knew her military background among the US forces in Afghanistan and that he was proud that such a woman like her lived now in his city. She blushed to her ears because of his attention and compliments and at this very moment, she wished to be buried in a hole.

The Mayor introduced her to Alonzo Quinn that complimented her on her beauty and her future in New York. While he kept her hand in his, he told her that he would be proud to know her better and to help her in any kind of things in New York. Then he kissed her hand and let her go, gazing at her with a mischievous look.  
She deeply disliked this Alonzo Quinn, he gave her chills in her spine, she didn't know why.  
John noticed that she felt uneasy with Alonzo Quinn and Finch too shared this feeling.

The Miller's couple and Lisa forwarded to the buffet to have a pre-dinner drink. Lisa took a glass filled with Champagne. She looked at the glass but didn't drink it. John watched her hesitate with her glass in hand.

"Good girl, she learned my lecture, but she is going to be thirsty tonight if she gets too paranoiac." He chucked. Finch and John sat at their dinner table with a full view of the floor.

The Miller's couple and Lisa led themselves to their table where three couples and a man alone were already installed.  
Mr. Miller introduced Lisa to the investors that were all surprised she was French and the new boss of the Riviere Company. All the men at her dinner table were captivated by the young French lady especially the single one that didn't hide his interest towards the prettiest heiress she was.

John noticed that the men were attracted to her but he remembered he had been too when he held her in his arms two days ago.

She was questioned about what she did before coming to New York and she answered with sincerity about her studies, her army, her different works. Even the women found her genuine and nice. At a moment they all laughed when the single man joked about a crappy financial he experienced a few years ago. Then they began to eat the delicious and giant meal, being vegan Lisa only ate vegetable and fish or seafood without drinking anything. The dinner was a divine moment and she appreciated the chocolate dessert despite it made her thirsty as hell.

Lisa roamed her gaze over the tables on the floor then over the balcony where she spotted a man looking like John. She narrowed her eyes to get a better sight of him.

'It seems it's John.' She thought discretely nodding at him.

John smiled and nodded at her too.

"Mr. Reese..., Mr. Reese..., JOHNNN?" Finch intervened.

"Hum, what?" Demanded John with a lapse in concentration.

"She spotted you." Finch observed with irritation.

"Why are you angry Finch? You're jealous?"

"I'm not jealous but yes I'm angry because you are not enough concentrating on why we are here. You feel content that she discovered you. And now Mr. O'Neil spotted you too on his radar." Finch murmured.

John shrugged and gazed at Finch with a disappointed look.

"Finch, I repeat you again, I know how to do my work, we are both here, she knows my face so she spots me. Why would I deny that? I'm correct with women. Tomorrow I will return to the shadow and continue my mission. Now my concentration on the job cost me more bullets in my body than I would have wanted, you know that. About O'Neil you are right, he spotted me too because he was concentrated on watching her instead of doing his work conscientiously, his work is to ensure the security of the Mayor and his guests. If he wants to hurt me it's occupational hazards." After this lecture, Finch looked shamefaced and he stuttered:

"I'm sorry John if I hurt you. I trust you, but I worried about you. I always thought that being involved emotionally with a number could be dangerous for you, for the team and the Machine."

Finch stopped on the subject, he knew that John had suffered losing people he loved. He wanted him having happiness and at the same time, he was scared that it broke him again and he lost himself one more time.  
John squeezed Finch's forearm accepting his apologies. Then he gazed again at Lisa.

"Finch, five days that she is constantly on my radar and except the incident in the bar two days ago with the Ramirez brothers, I detected no threat. Is the Machine wrong sometimes?" John demanded with concern.

"Mr. Reese, the Machine never mistakes when She gives a number. What She doesn't know is the exact time the blow hits, that's why we are working on our number even if it takes some time, it will happen." Finch answered softly.

Lisa glanced at John randomly to capture his eyes, but he was busy to speak with an old man. She was bored with the conversations of the investors about their financial feats, their golden holidays, their stories where no holds barred. The women were chattering about their designer clothes, their stylish make-up, their travels here and there around the world and tried to involve her, but she had only worn casual clothes except twice, she used light ordinary make-up, she had only been in France and in Afghanistan desert, in the sand and the dirt. She had nothing to share with them. Ilsa squeezed her arm in compassion.  
When she looked up at John one more time he was looking down at her and they smiled at each other.

The orchestra was playing soft music and some couples went on the dance-floor. The single man was about to invite her to the dance-floor when a low soft voice whispered:

"Please, would you agree to dance with me?"

"Yes, of course." She sighed, relieved to see him next to her. She found him gorgeous in his tuxedo and she wasn't the only one to think like that. Women were open-mouthed roaming up and down his tall athletic body.

When she got up from her chair, John glimpsed of small blurred pieces of her legs through the fabric of her gown that sent shivers down his spine. He took her hand and they forwarded on the dance-floor. One arm around her waist, one hand holding hers on his heart, he clasped her closer against him and they swayed in harmony. She smelled good, surely a Parisian perfume, like mixed flavors of flowers, powder, and vanilla.

"You are the most beautiful lady I ever met in my life." John murmured in his hot voice. What was he saying? This wasn't in the normal process when he protected a number but he couldn't help himself. When he decided to invite her on the dance-floor it was to avoid the single man to approach her in case he could harm her.

This was the most sincere and lovely compliment she heard in the entire evening.

"Thank you, John. You are great too. You know I would never mind to meet you here but I'm glad to. I have never spent a so boring evening even in the army." She laughed softly.

"And you have never been so thirsty with so many liquids around you. I have a little-capped bottle of water in the pocket of my jacket." He whispered in her ear.

She put her hand in her mouth to contain her laughter but she couldn't help her, it burst out. She laughed in his jacket making little noises. John was relaxed he made her laugh. His hand shifted from her waist to her shoulder blade with a soft pressure.

"When can I drink the water because I'm really thirsty?" She demanded out of puff.

They swayed reaching behind an archway and John uncapped the bottle and he gave it to her. She drank it down in one go, some water flowing on her chin and her neck. John resisted the urge to wipe the water from her chin and her neck while a wave of heat burned in his belly. That was never in his scope to feel such emotions when he was working but he had to deal with tonight.

"Want some more?" He gave her a second little bottle.

"Oh my god, you carried water for an army." She burst into laughter one more time. He smiled.

After she quenched her thirst they returned to the dance-floor and they swayed on a slow music. John roamed his gaze around them, attentive to the people on the dance floor, on the balcony or sitting at the dinner tables. After a while she demanded:

"What do you do for a living, John?"

"I'm ...in the justice field."

"Are you a cop, a lawyer, a prosecutor, who are you?" She enumerated locking her eyes with his.

"I'm the man that prevented you from to be drugged and to die of thirst." He sighed plunging his blue-grey eyes into hers. It moved him that she interested in him and he pulled her closer to him. He had to stop flirting with her, words were flowing out of his mouth even if he didn't want to. Usually, he was able to keep an emotionless face and a normal voice, quite low but normal, but it didn't work right now.

"Oh God, John, you are too funny, you made my evening." She was joyful and fisting the lapel of his jacket.

John fingered her bun in the nap of her neck and unclasped the hair-clip and put it in his pocket. Her hair spread on her shoulders and she looked up at him, she smiled raising her brows. John asked himself why he touched her hair. He was drowned devastatingly into her to the point he acted without thinking about the consequences.

"I'm sorry but you are even more beautiful like that." Hitching a lock behind her ear. He held her even closer to him, he felt the warmth of her upper body poked through his clothes and a huge desire to kiss her. Their mouths were an inch close but the crowded space dissuaded him. He was irresistibly attracted to her, his erection was hard and he preferred to draw back before she noticed it. He sensed that he did wrong but he appreciated this moment of freedom with her like a gemstone.

John gazed at Finch on the balcony. He was staring at them with a worried face. Sure he had listened to all that was said but this wouldn't change the things tonight.  
John caught the dark look of O'Neil on them. This bastard was not a professional of the security and he wondered how his irresponsibility had granted him to work for the Mayor.

"Lisa, I have to go with my friend." He squeezed her hand and led her to her chair reluctantly. He pressed a warm kiss on the back of her hand and thanked her.  
She kept watching him and thought that hopefully, she spent a good evening, thanks to him. She hoped to meet him soon again. John returned near Finch and leaning towards him he commanded:

"When she leaves the party we are going to drive her discretely in our car to her hotel. She will be safe with us, too much attention on her tonight, a rich heiress, it might have woken some dirty thoughts."

"I don't think it's a good idea but I admit that you are often right." Finch sighed in a neutral voice.

It was 01:00 am. John looked down at Lisa. Lisa said to the Millers that she needed to go to the restroom, she got up and forwarded to the restroom. She was nauseous and sweating, a headache raised in her brain. With a paper towel, she moistened her forehead and waited some minutes that the dizzy spell faded.

When she returned to the dinner table, she was pale as snow and said that she needed to come back to her hotel because she felt not well. Keeping his eyes on her, John understood that she was going to leave. He warned Finch and they went down to the inferior stage, then outside.  
Ilsa proposed to drive her but she would take a cab. She said good night, took her purse and steered towards the exit door.  
When she reached the sidewalk John was waiting for her beside the car parked in the street, ready to pull away. He softly called her:

"Need a car ride, Lisa?" Opening the back door.

She suddenly felt better. She climbed into the back seat. He shut the door and sat in the driver seat. He started the car gently and pulled away.

"I'm Harold Wren, nice to meet you." Finch said, introducing himself.

"Elisabeth Adrian, so John and you are friends." She said with a little smile.

"Sort of, yes." Staying vague.

"He is your driver." She tried.

"Sometimes."

"And what else before and after the 'sometimes'?" She insisted.

"We.. have some business." He waved looking at John who couldn't help him to chuckle about the questions and answers game Lisa and Finch were playing.

Finch was relieved when John stopped at the Mondrian Hotel. John got out of the car and opened the back door to Lisa. He held her hand when she came out of the car. She said good night to Finch. Looking up at John she said that she was glad to have met him tonight. John kissed her fingers and then said goodnight. He waited until she entered the elevator.  
Finch shifted to the driver seat, said goodnight to John and pulled away. John strode into the lobby of the hotel and hurried to his room.  
In his room, he woke up his computer. She prepared a glass of water and put an effervescent tablet in it. He contemplated Lisa who was carefully undressing her gown and her stockings. She forwarded to her bathroom, unclasping her bra and flying it on the chair. John had a quick sight on her bare back before she entered the bathroom. He saw her panty thrown flying on the chair. He was aroused and strongly needed a cold shower. He undressed and packed carefully the tuxedo and others clothes in the bag and showered. Few minutes after, Lisa phone rang. She hurried out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and answered the call.

"Lisa, how are you? We are worried about you to feel suddenly sick." Ilsa demanded.

"Oh Ilsa, I'm sorry, I feel better, I took some medicine for the stomach and the headache. Thank you so much to care about me."

"My poor Lisa, I'm relieved that you feel better and I hope you will be up tomorrow. I will call you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night Ilsa." She frowned, shocking her head, putting her hand on her cheek, she was embarrassed by the sensation she left to the Millers. She wondered why John was waiting for her to drive her back to her hotel despite she was willing and happy he did. John and Mr. Wren sure were friends but both of them seemed enigmatic. She paced up and down like a caged lion, chewing her lips and agitating her index. She summed up the few information she had about John. She encountered John twice.

First, at the bar where he claimed she was going to be drugged, he had strength and ability to swiftly lock her, he extracted her from the bar and walked her to the door of her room. He convinced her and she felt safe with him. He didn't say his name, only John.

Second, at the party where he flirted with her, he drove her back to her hotel. He didn't convince her to do it he just asked her and she agreed. He didn't say clearly what he did for a living, he didn't say who he was.

He didn't take advantage of her in both cases, he never had a misplaced gesture or word.  
Just tonight something changed: lovely compliments, little flirt, funny moments, arms around her, fingers in her hair but she had liked it.

He had a talent for convincing and obtaining. He wanted to be unknown, he maintained a mystery about his identity and his work.

Was he a spy agent, an ex-military? Sure he had been in the army.

She sensed that he was caring for her or he was seducing her or both. The true question was: why he was around her?

John saw the wheels turned in her head, she was evaluating the situation, she was questioning and searching for answers about him. He was sure that she was going to foil him sooner or later and he hoped that she wouldn't mistake on his intentions. A so wonderful moment in the evening they enjoyed together and now she was worried about his fault. But he had decided to act like this for her safety. He couldn't tell her that she was in danger, he had to get rid of the threat and to protect her. In the same way, he must behave straight with her, he must control his emotions and suppress the feelings that submerged him.

She drank her medicine and finally fell in her bed, slid under the sheets, pulled off the towel of her and dropped it on the floor. She turned during hours to catch some sleep and she succeeded at dawn.

John was exhausted and slumped in a half sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	6. Chapter 6 Bad Moments

Lisa visits Chinatown,

Bad moments,

The third encounter with John

* * *

Chapter 6

Lisa woke up at 11:00 am when Ilsa called her to get news about her health. Ilsa told her that her husband will manage the company for two weeks to let her rest and study the scheme of the enterprise if she agreed with that. Lisa answered yes and they saluted. She was sleepy but felt in good shape. She got out of bed to shower. In front of his computer, John closed his eyes seeing her nakedness.  
He paced in his room letting her shower and dress. He heard her come out of her room. He closed his computer, wore his jacket, put his gun in the back of his waistband and discretely followed her.  
On the side-walk she hailed a cab and asked for Chinatown Center, the marketplace, she didn't know the exact address. John ran towards his car parked in the street and tailed the cab of Lisa. The cab dropped Lisa off at the junction of Bayard Street and Mott Street the main artery of Chinatown. She walked along some blocks of buildings where many restaurants and shops were crowded. She entered into the 'Shanghai Cuisine' restaurant and ordered a vegan soup, a fried fish fillet, and a green tea.  
John parked his car in Bayard Street, his place was in the neighborhood, a little higher from Colombus Park at 81-0 Baxter Street. He preferred to wait for Lisa outside despite he was starving to death.

After lunch, she visited known places: Mahayana Buddhist Temple, Church of the Transfiguration, shops on Pell Street and finally entered in Colombus Park where elderly Chinese were playing cards and Chinese chess and youngest were playing music. She stood at a table watching people playing mah-jong, a game she learned and played sometimes with her army comrades and she often won. When a player left the table she politely asked if she could take the seat to play. The players agreed and requested her to bet. She put the money on the table and she played with them. She won five games successively. When she ended playing she left all her gains on the table and thanked the players to give her a beautiful moment. The players were astonished and thanked her a lot.

John liked how she acted and thought that she was a very lovely heart-warming person. Then he noticed a black van that rounded the Colombus park for the second time, moving at a slow speed, sometimes stopping then moving again. He gazed at Lisa who walked toward the Park Pavillon near the upper side of the Park. The tinted windows of the van prevented to know how many occupants were in the van and if they were armed. John was on alert and tailed Lisa pretty tightly, ready to intervene. Soon she reached the sidewalk behind the Park Pavillon, the van increased its speed and came at the level of her. The window lowered and a shining black barrel pointed on her. John ran and grasped her by the waist and got her down, covering her body with his when shots banged over their heads. He slid them behind a parked car and took his gun aiming and shooting at the van whose windows exploded while it sped up in the traffic.  
People were screaming and fleeing in the park.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch was calling him.

"Yeah Finch, I'm a little busy!"

"Mr. Reese, are you alright, what's the matter?" Finch muttered.

"A van followed Lisa and shots were aimed at her. I am going to lead her to my place, it's five minutes from here."

"It would be more secure you lead her to a safe house." Finch recommended.

"I'm not going to take the risk to drive her in full sight after that. My home is a mile far from here."

They disconnected.

Lisa was in shock and shaking, blood staining her forehead. She had lived worse situations during her tour in Afghanistan but she wasn't so afraid among her comrades. She didn't understand what was happening right now. Why was she the target of the shots?  
She looked at John with surprise and stuttered:

"You saved my life, John, thank you. Citizen cowboy, is that you do for a living? Who are you really?"

"Concerned .. third party? Stay get down. They may come back." Scanning around him.

Lisa tried to sit and touched her bleeding forehead.

"It's just a graze, Lisa. You are in danger. I will take you to my place."

"How do you know I'm in danger?" She frowned her brows.

"I have my sources."

Soon they heard the police sirens coming near.

"My car is just ten meters on the left. Come on." Helping her to get up, he put his arm around her shoulders and they hurried toward his car.

He started the car and sped up towards Baxter Street, carefully paying attention to not be tailed.

When they arrived at his place, he parked the car in the underground car park and taking Lisa's forearm they forwarded to the internal hallway that opened with a code. The elevator brought them to the fifth floor. He opened his door, let her come on in and entered after her, closing and locking the door.  
Nothing had been said during the ride.

She scanned the unique large open space, with Spartan furniture, high windows, flowing light, no photos, no decoration, no personal style, no one else could guess who was living here.

"Nice place John." She said moving to the window and admiring the sight.

Turning towards him she asked:

"Tell me, how long is it since you are stalking me and why?" Raising her eyebrows.

"For a little while. Our sources told us that you were in danger, for now, we don't know who wants you dead but we will find. You are safe here, no one will hurt you. I will protect you whatever the cost." John answered with sincerity, not saying too much.

"Our, us, we, you don't do this alone. You have co-workers, Mr. Wren, Finch?" She tilted her head.

"Come here, Lisa, I'm going to disinfect the bruise on your forehead." Changing the conversation. He entered the bathroom and came back with the First Aid Kit.

Standing in front of her with a compress soaked with Biseptine he dabbed the bruise on her forehead, blowing on to light off the tingling.

"It's over. Nothing terrible, hum." Kissing lightly near her bruise.

"When I was a little girl my Daddy did that to heal my boo." She looked at him with nostalgic and sad eyes.

He gazed at her with an understanding look and smirked.

"What about a dinner, I will cook something for us. What do you like, Lisa?"

"Everything but meat. I'm a vegan." She excused.

"No problem."

He looked at what he had in his fridge-freezer to prepare a vegan meal for the first time in his life.  
He thought in first a Greek salad with tomatoes, bell peppers, black olives, feta, olive oil, then in second a mixed steamed vegetables broccoli, zucchinis, green beans, potatoes, onions with shrimps and a white sauce and in the third an ice cream with strawberries, already done.

Lisa watched John the chief cook as she never imagined he was. Rolled up sleeves, cooking apron, he exactly knew what he did with the kitchen utensils and foods, cleaning, cutting, steaming, better than her. She was awestricken in front of this tall man who previously held a gun in his hand and now used a set of cooking materials to prepare the foods.

"Surprised?" He demanded, raising his brows.

"A lot. I should never mind you had a taste for cooking. How did you learn?"

"With my mother. She showed me a lot of recipes and I liked helping her in the kitchen."

"Can I help you to do something?" She demanded.

"Set the table, plates, cutlery, and glasses are here. The meal is almost ready." Showing her the closet behind him.

She set the table on the dining table with care.

"Do you like wine, red, white, a beer, water?" He smiled thinking again when she drank water at the Mayor party.

"Everything but red wine."

It was easy to remember what she liked the way she announced it 'everything but one thing'. He carried on the dining table the salad, sweet bread and a tray of drinks she didn't dislike. He uncapped the white wine 'Alsace Pinot Gris' locking his eyes with hers and they smiled remembering the lecture he gave her one evening. He poured their glasses and they tasted the wine.

"This is a French wine, John. It's good and fresh." She appreciated.

They ate the salad and she talked about everything and nothing. She related her childhood in Nice, her studies, her army. John listened to her with attention barely eating his salad, too captivated he was by her eyes and her lips.

"You don't eat John, the salad is excellent, I distract you with my chattering."

"No, you don't, your personal story is interesting. But why did you enlist in the army instead of working with all your diploma?" He demanded, remembering the curiosity of Finch about this topic and he ate his salad.

"My father was a professional military and he loved the army. He always spoke about the principles, virtues, link, and loyalty with the nation, courage and mutual trust. He fought on many external war lands. But I never understood his behavior with my mother and I. This was as if we counted for nothing for him. What he experienced in the army was above all. We were in a second zone where my mother and I endured indifference, where love was absent except a few moments of affection he gave us. I enlisted to follow the way he did and to understand if the values, the virtues, the principles of the army could turn a person to the point she would put and love the nation above all." She stopped speaking.

"And?" John asked, kept in suspense.

"I quit because I understood that I could've become really like him. I wished a normal life, I didn't want a family apart or suffering."

John put his hand on hers and squeezed it.

"You know a too long sacrifice can turn a heart into a stone. You did a choice and you are what you chose. No regret. After quitting the army did you wish to start a family? " He ventured to ask her.

She looked at him, her lips trembled and she suddenly turned pale. She breathed a deep sigh and looked up over his shoulder to avoid his gaze. John felt he had hit a sensible point and he was mad at himself to question her about her private life.

"I'm sorry, Lisa. I shouldn't have to." He squeezed her hand harder and he caressed her wrist with his long fingers.

"It's nothing, That's all right, John." She excused with a poor smile.

With regret, he removed his hand, stood up and went to the kitchen to warm the vegetables and the sauce in the microwave oven. He returned to the table with the hot dish then he served Lisa and himself.

"Oh, it smells good. And it tastes divine. You are a chief cook John." She complimented.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

While eating the vegetables with the sauce they took some sips of the blank wine. John glanced at her, she wasn't anymore the joyful woman of earlier days. Still angry with himself he hoped he will make her laugh again later, he loved when she laughed because of him.

"What about you John? You almost know all of my life but I know nothing about yours. Just that your name is John and that your mother taught you how to cook and that your job is saving people in danger."

"Yes, I help people cope with their problems. I'm just a little bit more, uh, hands-on. I promise I will tell you all when it's time to do it."

He turned the conversation on the dinner.

"In dessert, ice cream with strawberries, do you like?"

"Yes, of course."

She took twice of ice-cream and ate his strawberries he offered to her.

"I'm full. It was absolutely delicious. Are you still hungry John?" She questioned.

"No, I'm not. Vegan meals are good, it's a sort of habit. I should get used to it with a steak at breakfast." She laughed, he smiled.

Yeah, he made her laugh, he felt relieved that she relaxed.

After dinner, John washed the dishes in the sink, cleaned the table and turned toward Lisa.

"The bathroom is here, if you wish to shower, anything you need is in the closet. I will gather your things in your hotel room. You need some night clothes this evening so I placed a tee-shirt of mine and boxer shorts. Sorry I don't have woman clothes here."

He was somehow embarrassed to propose her his clothes but he couldn't do better. She nodded in approbation and motioned to the bathroom. She undressed and washed her underwear, bra and panties with a few shampoos in the sink. She rinsed them and put them on the heated towel rack. She entered in the shower. The warm water raining on her body relaxed her muscles and lowered the tension she held since John grabbed her to protect her life on the sidewalk. But she constantly had a weight in her chest, growing with minutes when she thought about the situation she was.

She washed her body and hair, rinsed and turned off the water. She dried with a large towel and put the tee-shirt on her. It was too long, too large but it suited her like that. However the large boxer shorts didn't remain on her hips, so she tried to knot a part of the tissue in order to keep it up at her waist. No way to do it without crashing the clothe.  
Searching in the closet she found nothing to maintain it so she had nothing to wear on her behind, her panties being wet for the moment. She worried about that but she ended up reasoning herself to be careful that she had nothing under the tee-shirt. To hide her underwear she recovered them with a towel. No way John would know that she wore only his tee-shirt.

She came out of the bathroom, John was on the couch switching on the news through the TV channels with the remote in search of some interesting film. He turned his eyes to her, slipping them over her body up to down, smirking.

"White color suits you very well, Lisa."

"Thanks." She smiled a little uncomfortable.

"You're welcome. Want to watch some film, I have some DVDs here in this box, you choose what you wish." He said, patting the place on the couch to invite her to sit down beside him.

She searched among the DVDs and chose 'The Thin Red Line' movie. Then she sat on the couch, her feet stuck on the side of the upper side of her thighs and she pulled the tee-shirt down her knees. John raised his eyebrows watching what she was doing to his tee-shirt but he said nothing.

"You like war films." He remarked while inserting the Dvd in the reader.

"Mostly this one. I watched it twice. I love Private Witt soul that enables him to cross from his identity over to the villagers and to that of a humane being who cares for a dying Japanese soldier after the heat of the battle. He lures the enemy away to help save the lives of his company comrades. I admire him."

"Many different behaviors arise in response to war, Witt represents the very best." John answered with a sad soft voice.

The film lasted long but they silently watched it till the end. She didn't notice that John slid her brief glances so much she was captivated. Lisa's eyes were shining with unshed tears, her breathing was short in harmony with the wonderful music. After Witt's death, she closed her eyes, crossed her hands behind her neck and expired a long silent sigh to fly away from the emotions that had fulfilled her. The film ended and John lighted off the TV screen and the DVD reader. He was as moved by Lisa than by the film.

"Lisa, it's time to rest. You are my guest, you will sleep in my bedroom and I will take the couch, okay?" He commanded with a firm voice.

"The couch seems more to suit me, you are tall John, your bed will be better for you."

"I prefer you sleep in my bed, please."

"If you insist, thank you, John."

"You're welcome."

"I wish you a good night."

"Goodnight Lisa."

She turned and walked to his bedroom while John roamed the length of her elegant figure in his too long and large tee-shirt. He exhaled a silent heavy sigh envying the tee-shirt brushing her body. He decided to quickly shower. He took the towel hanging on the heated towel rack to dry himself making fall on the floor the feminine underwear of Lisa. He shook his head and understood why she had completely stretched his tee-shirt and an amused smile curled up his lips. He gathered up her underwear and he put them on the heated towel rack again. He wore a fresh under-shirt and boxer brief, he took a blanket and pillow in his closet. He switched off the lights and he laid on his couch under the blanket, an arm behind his head, gazing at the large window where the city lights invaded his loft with a tiny luminosity. He was exhausted and he quickly sank into a deep sleep.

Lisa was so tired that she sank asleep in a minute after she slid under the comforter. In the middle of the night, John heard noises coming from his bedroom. He stood up, it was 3:30 am. He strode toward his bed and bent over Lisa who was sobbing and shaking. He grabbed her by her arms, rattled her to awake her:

"Lisa, wake up, it's a bad dream, Lisa, wake up."

Sobs increased with hands waving in the air like she wanted to push away something. He gently tapped her cheeks to get a reaction back, when she began to fight with her fists and legs to escape the blows. Finally, he sat down on the bed, he sat her and held her in a tight embrace against his chest to freeze her defensive movements and he murmured in her ear:

"It's John, Lisa, listen to me please, no one will hurt you, I'm here, please Lisa wake up, it's only a bad dream."

She opened her eyes, lost, she didn't know where she was, who was the man who held her so tight, she was scared as hell.

"Where am I, who are you, what do you want?" She yelled, writhing in despair to free off his hold. John was aware of these nightmares, he often himself had these sorts of no-mans-land in his bed, but he was all alone in these moments, no one to hold him or wake him.

"It's John, remember I got you in my place, you are safe here. You just have a bad dream."

She gathered her pieces of mind and shook her head, sobbing and breathing heavily.

"Yes, you are John, you saved my life this afternoon. This dream torments me when I am under a heavy stress. I return in the lapse of time when I am in mission in Afghanistan and I go through again this painful moment I lived." She whispered, swallowing hard.

"Want to talk about?" John demanded, still holding her against him.

"These images haunt me for years now, I never get rid of them, they are so clear in my mind that I feel I am right in whatever how many time has past." She took a deep bowl of air and she continued.

"Within an Operational Detachment Alpha-based in the Kapisa province, our mission was to track and capture Taliban insurgents. I operated as a radio telecommunications support under the order of US Special Forces commandment. We invaded villages, rummaged through every house to catch the rebels. I saw awful things, dead comrades, dead civilians, men, women, children, this returned my brain and made me sick more than once but I always tried to keep my head even if inside I was destroyed.  
One day, in a little sand-covered square in the middle of a village, we found a stoned woman, buried till the waist and with her hands tied. She looked like a bleeding piece of meat flattened on the ground. My captain kneeled down and scrutinized her head. 'It won't take long before she dies, she's almost gone. I wish her she will before the desert dogs come to devour her at night.' He looked at me and pulled away beyond the sand-covered square."

Lisa stopped speaking, swallowing hard. John gently rubbed her back with one hand, his other hand caressing her hair in her neck, his chin posing on the top of her head, encouraging her to continue.

"I understood that he wouldn't involve himself in any way and he left me alone in front of an agonizing tortured human being. I was mesmerized by this bloody form, I didn't know what else to do, to flee or to end her torment." She again sobbed.

"Oh God, forgive me, I implored before I finally took my assault gun and aimed the woman's head during almost two minutes because my arms were shaking so hard, then I closed my eyes and I pulled the trigger. A hot wet wave swept my face. When I opened my eyes, bones, brains, blood had exploded all around and I was covered with her blood. I moved backward in horror, fell on my knees and I vomited what my stomach contained, that was nothing at all. I don't know how long I stayed here petrified until I heard my Captain who yelled :

'Adrian, what are you doing, hurry and bring your ass here.'

I lifted up and I stumbled, I ran toward the voice. When I joined him he said in a flat tone:

'You surprised me, Adrian, I wondered if you would have the guts to do it. You are courageous.'

He searched the house and came to me with a towel and water and began to wash the blood off my face.

'Better others don't see you like a bloodthirsty monster, madam. Plus freckles don't suit you. More pretty like that, even now with your bloody uniform, you look like the sexiest badass of the section'. "

Anger rose in John, he gritted his teeth and he clenched his jaw. This captain was an ass-hole and he was decided to show him if he would be lucky to cross his path.

She paused one more time. John lightly brushed his lips on her forehead and held her tighter against him.

"Since this moment I never forgot the image of the stoned woman, the symbol of cruelty, sacrifice, pain and defenseless, her warm blood splashing on me was like an eternal reminder to hold and cherish her forever in my mind. I feel guilty and I wonder if I did right. This dream is exactly what happened and haunts me like a ghost."

"Lisa, you did the right thing, ending the life of this woman. I should have acted the same in your place. You felt compassion and courage. You did what your heart commanded you. You know Lisa your Captain is a true big ass hole as he made you do a thing that he was able to do himself. But he had planned to test you on how you would assume the situation, the guilt and weakness experiences. He had manipulated you and joked with misplaced flattery to mask his miserable game."

"He saved my life once, John." She admitted.

"This was certainly in his duty to have your back." John retorted.

"Yes, it was. I saved him twice." She sighed.

"So, he owes you one. But he failed when he let you alone in front of the dying woman."

She looked at him, stunned by the sharpness of his words. She grabbed John's arms to anchor her to something real, to grip the present and to blow away this past difficult period.

"Lisa, is this Jim guy you encountered in Central Park your Captain?"

"Yes he is, but how do you know that?"

"No matter. You have had sex with him."

"I'll not answer your question."

"It's not a question, it's a fact, I know you have had sex with him. There are people outside who want you dead. I must know what kind of relationship you have with persons who are around you." He gently explained.

"Yes, I have had sex with him, just once when I quit the army and he was leaving for three months. We stayed two days in Paris. I had no feelings for him, it was just sex for me." She muttered, head down.

John released his embrace to get up but Lisa gripped him and breathed:

"Where are you going?"

"I'm not going anywhere, I just bring some water for you and me. I come back soon."

He strode to the fridge and came back with two little bottles of water. She drank half on one shot. John smiled and drank his bottle too.

"Now it's time to rest Lisa." He murmured, pushing her on her back and covering her with the comforter. Standing he was turning back toward the couch.

"No, stay, please, don't let me alone. There is enough place for two in your bed."

Her inviting words aroused him and he was unsure what to do.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, come here. " She murmured, sliding past the middle of the bed.

John climbed into the bed and laid on his back under the comforter. Lisa nestled against his side and demanded:

"Hold me, John, please."

John turned on his side, took her in his arms and held her tight against his chest. She snaked her arms around his waist and his arm. John sensed a tension in his crotch and in other circumstances he would have made love to her all night long if she wanted him. He put all his strength to control it, he was a gentleman, he will not take advantage of her, she was too vulnerable.  
Soon he heard a stable breathing of her, she was already asleep, comforted she was in his strong embrace. He caressed her hair and he kissed her forehead, her eyelids, her nose and he mentally lectured himself to stop here. He was exhausted, so sleep took him too.

The light was flowing in the loft when John woke up. He sensed a light weight on top of him. His half-closed eyes gazed at a woman body sprawled half on him, half on his side, a fist gripping the hem on his under-shirt, a leg between his, a knee on his crotch, a hot pressure against his thigh. His morning arousal quickly turned into a hard painful erection he couldn't hide unless he got out from the bed. But he was trapped by Lisa's fist, her body half straddling his and the desire to feel her on him in his arms.

He had to get away before she woke up. He tried to open her fist but he gave up, so he took off his under-shirt, first he removed his arm from her back, he freed his two arms from the under-shirt, then his head, he gently lifted her leg up from his, keeping his eyes shut because she had no panties and got off the bed, leaving Lisa fisting his empty under-shirt like a cuddly toy. Smiling at the scene he strode to the bathroom to shower, to shave and to dress in his work clothes, a black pant and a white shirt. Then he went to the kitchen to prepare coffee and breakfast.

Flavor of coffee and breakfast awoke Lisa. She stirred like a cat, she got off the bed and she was always fisting his under-shirt when she came into the kitchen.

"Good morning John, your coffee smells good."

Looking at her, he smiled wide seeing the clothing she held in her hand. She followed his look with an interrogative look.

"You gripped me like a cuddling toy all night. I had to take off my under-shirt this morning to get off the bed."

She blushed hard and laughed to mask her discomfort.

"I am sorry John, you brought me comfort in listening to me and staying with me. I didn't mind to be invasive."

"You were not." He assured with his hot low voice.

'If you weren't my person of interest I would have wished that you would be more invasive, Lisa' he thought mischievously.

He had prepared her a continental breakfast: coffee, milk, jam, boiled eggs, butter, yogurt, fruit juice and pancakes instead of fresh bread. Tomorrow he will have fresh bread for her.  
His usual breakfast for him with fried bacon and scrambled eggs.

"Oh, I like the breakfast like that. Thank you, John." She didn't demand how he knew.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch dialed him.

"Good morning Finch, how are you?"

"Good morning Mr. Reese. We have a new number this morning. A young boy Peter Evans, I send you the address. It seems to be a child abuse case."

"Okay Finch, I'm on my way."

Disconnecting the call, he drank his black coffee, put on his jacket, his gun in the back of his waistband. If it was a thing that repulsed him that was hurting children. He might be able to kill the one who hurt a child.  
He turned to Lisa.

"Lisa, listen to me. I have to go. You are safe in my home. Be quiet here, don't go outside, don't open the door except to me or Mr. Finch. Don't use your phone, either call from nor answer. I will be back as soon as I can, okay?"

He gave her a burner phone.

"Press one for Finch, two for me, I will call you to check if all is right." He locked his eyes with hers and nodded.

"Take care of you, John."

He dashed off, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	7. Chapter 7 Drama-Drink-Whirlwind

John has a case of a child abuse, he has to deal with his anger.

* * *

Chapter 7

John chose to ride his Ducati as some mornings in Manhattan were heavy with traffic. He arrived at the home of the boy Peter Evans. He parked his motorbike and hurried into the building. The family lived at the fourth stage. The elevator was busy so he climbed up to the fourth floor two by two. He didn't need to search the name on the door, he followed the muffled sounds of voice. When in front of the door he didn't knock but quickly picked the lock and entered and what he saw disgusted him and got him angry to the point he saw red. There were two upon a little boy seven or eight years old, a man and a woman beating him with a belt and a stick.  
He grabbed the man and he punched him hard in his face, smashing his nose and as a gift, he gave him a foot in his groin making him kneel down and scream. He didn't hurt women so he menaced her with his gun in her cheek and pushed her on the floor menacing to shoot at her if she moved one finger.

John kneeled down beside the boy and he searched for his pulse, he didn't find it. He put his ear on his chest, no beat, then on his mouth, no breath. He tapped his earpiece to call Finch while he began to practice a CPR to revive the little boy covered with large purple bruises.

"Finch we have a problem. The boy didn't make it. I try a CPR to revive him. Call 911, Carter and Fusco. I hope he will come back. He must come back. "

He was breathing hard, coordinating pushes with his hands on the chest of the boy with breaths of life into his mouth. He couldn't lose this child.

"Come on boy, breathe for me, please, come on."

Ten minutes later John was always working on the boy when Carter and Fusco surrounded him.

Fusco handcuffed the two perpetrators and he read their Miranda rights.

"Paramedics are parking the ambulance, they will be up in one minute, you get to go, John, I take your place." Carter softly said to him.

"No, I must continue."

"You can't John, you must go. My Captain sent a car with other police officers. I will go with him to the hospital and keep you informed. Go." She insisted frowning.

He reluctantly let his place to Carter and slipped away the apartment. Going down the stairs, he saw the paramedics coming out the elevator and he felt relieved that they were here.

In the street, he leaned against the wall of the building and he prayed to God to save the innocent boy. Then he called Finch.

"Hey, Finch, why did the Machine give his number this morning and not yesterday? I mind She did wrong." John hasn't a great faith in the Machine.

"The Machine never mistakes John. She gave his number because She knew that he was threatened this morning."

"Finch, I took my Ducati to speed as much as I could. I neutralized the two bastards in one minute but the boy didn't make it. The Machine alerted us too late." John shouted in anger.

"No John, probably the blows were too hard." Finch whispered in desperation.

John's heart bled when he heard Finch's words. Then he saw the paramedics pushing a stretcher. The boy was laying with an oxygen mask and an IV bag hanging above his head.

' Thank God. He is alive.' Tears filled his eyes but he kept them.

Carter called him.

"John, the boy makes it, God bless you to initiate early the CPR, you lightly revive the little boy and paramedics could take over you. He has broken arms and ribs, a skull fracture and a concussion. I will give you news after the checkup of the doctor at the hospital."

"Thanks, Carter." He sighed.

"You're welcome."

John worried for the little boy whose wounds were numerous and bad for his age especially the skull fracture and the concussion. He felt a twinge in the gut thinking that he might perhaps die. He hoped no and he waited with impatience Carter's call. At 04:00 pm Carter called John.

"John, well, the surgeon doctor healed his broken arms and the boy underwent a brain operation on the skull fracture, it has also caused cerebral edema. The three future days are critical but past this delay, he will be safe. Hope God takes care of this poor thing. His grandparents are here and will take him at their home."

"I hope that the bastards that beat him will be jailed for a long time otherwise I will kill them. Thanks, Carter to stay with him at the hospital, you are a good person."

"You're welcome."

They disconnected.

John dialed Finch to give him news about the boy. Finch was relieved and hoped all will be better for the boy. Then he called Lisa. Lisa answered on her burner phone knowing that it was him.

"John, how are you?"

"Fine, and you Lisa, are you okay?"

"All is right. I did some things at your home and watched TV to pass the time."

"I have some things to complete. See you soon." John ended the call.

To calm his anger John needed some strong tonic drinks. He stopped in a bar where some patrons were playing poker at a table. He sat on a bar stool and ordered a Whiskey and a beer. After several hours and drinks, he found it hard to think clearly. His eyelids were heavy and he wondered if he could stand up in his legs, his stomach was full of liquid and he didn't eat but the coffee in the morning. Finch had tried to call him but he didn't care to answer and had turned off his phone.

In the library, Finch was locating John using records of last calls he gave him when his phone was on. With the camera's images, he spotted his Ducati parked in front of the bar.

He dialed Shaw.

"Finch, what's up?" She asked with an annoyed voice.

"Ms. Shaw, I need your help to get Mr. Reese back to his place. He is in a bar, certainly having a buzz and nohow he must be able to drive his motorcycle. You know how to drive a motorcycle. Take a cab to the bar and wait for me."

"What? He will never let me ride his motorbike." Shaw exclaimed.

"No need to ask him."

He gave her the address of the bar and came out of the library to enter in the garage and pull away in his Lincoln toward the bar.

Thirty minutes later Finch and Shaw entered the bar and spotted John slumped on the counter. When he saw them with his misty eyes, he raised his glass and mumbled :

"Ooh.., you too.. are on the town.. Want a.. drink..? It's my.. treat."

Shaw discretely relieved him of his motorbike's key. Then they both convinced him to slid down the barstool and to follow them outside. He stood up on his legs and stumbled gripping the shoulders of his friends that maintained him on each side as firmly as they could. They sat him on the passenger seat of the Lincoln and tied the security belt around him. John's head tilted back on the headrest and Finch was hoping that he would not vomit in his Lincoln. He pulled away slowly to not shake John. Shaw put the helmet of John, she proudly started his Ducati and followed the Lincoln.

They joined John's place and parked the vehicles in the garage. Dragging John out the car was an epic episode, with his long legs, his tall body and his drunkenness not helping them a lot in their efforts, because he was sleepy too he was like a dead weight. Finally, walking them to his door cost a lot of time and tiredness.

Finch knocked at the door and announced him. Lisa looked through the peephole and recognized Finch and she opened the door.  
They entered and she closed and locked the door.  
Shaw glared at her from up to down and she found her to her liking, she wondered if Reese had banged her.

"What's the matter with him? Is he hurt?" Frowning her brows in concern.

"He is a ...little tired, he has had a harsh day, he needed some rest to recover." Finch pleaded.

"Yeah and now if you have a secret weapon to manage him alone, shoot him." Shaw snarled.

Finch and Shaw laid John down on the couch after taking off his jacket and his gun and said goodnight to Lisa.

They came out of John's loft and they breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Lisa closed and locked the door.

She turned toward John sprawled on his back, beads of sweat on his face. She placed a pillow under his head and she refreshed his face with a wet towel.

'He is dead drunk.' She thought, shaking her head.

To make him sleep easier she began to remove his shoes, to unbuckle his belt and slip it from his waist, to unbutton his shirt then his pants to get his shirt off of them.  
John took her wrists and muttered :

"What.. youu.. doing...? If youu.. want.. to see mee.. naked.. just.. ask mee."

"No, no, I don't want to undress you, I just want to make you sleep easier." She said, freeing her wrists from his grip and smiling at how he teased even in a state of inebriation.

"Why are you drunk? Speak to me." She softly demanded while she stroked his cheek.

"I.. was angry..a child.. beaten.. by adults.. almost dies.." Tears swept from his closed eyes and ran to the side.

"Alcohol isn't a remedy John. " She wiped his tears with her fingers and refreshed one more time his face then she covered him with the blanket.

"I know. But.. I needed.." He took her hand in his and kissed her fingers.

"Some sleep and you will be better tomorrow." She got up to leave but John gripped her hand.

"Please Lisa, hold my hand." He half opened his eyes and gazed at her through his long lashes.

She held his hand and squeezed it. She hugged him chastely to comfort him. She understood that he was sensible to the child fate and even he was tall and strong he had a warm heart, he was a good man.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it then he leaned his cheek against it.

"Thank you ..Lisa, I feel.. now.. I'm going ..to sleep.. easier." He closed his eyes and a few seconds later a little snore of him chanted in his nose. She stayed beside him a very long time, she watched him breathe, his chest heaving up and down steadily, his hand holding hers to his cheek. She looked at his long thin fingers able to hold a gun and fire and at the same time to caress her hair and her hand.

She deep sighed, he was drunk and probably tomorrow he wouldn't have the faintest idea of what he said and did. She hoped so and she will not refresh his memory. She stood up with regret letting the hand of John on his chest, she turned off the lights and got in his bed. Several times she got up to check on him. Asleep John reflected youthful expression, purity and child-like innocence that made him desirable as hell. She mentally designed the contours of his face, of his cheekbones, of his nose, of his lips and she wondered if he was aware of his beauty and sexiness.  
She thought how he flirted with her when they danced at the Mayor's party, he had held her tightly in his arms and she had liked it, he had made her laugh with his funny remarks. She lightly ran her fingers through his short hair and turned to go to bed.

"Lisa, Lisa.." John whispered.

She came back toward the couch and leaned over the back of it. John was always asleep and calling her.

'Is he sick, does he dream?' She questioned herself with worry.

"John ?" She called softly.

No reaction, no sound, no move, just a big sigh of him. She waited and she watched him peacefully breathing, his chest heaving up and down at a normal rhythm then she went back to his bed to get some sleep.

* * *

John woke up at 05:00 am with a hard hangover and he got off the couch all scruffy. He searched for clean and fresh clothes in the closet and strode to the bathroom. He took a warm and long shower to refresh his body and ideas and he remembered of Finch and Shaw picking him in the bar and taking him back to his home. He remembered how he asked Lisa to hold his hand, how she did it and she hugged him. He remembered also how he dreamed she caressed his hair and he made love to her.

'Oh my God, I will apologize to have to worry her and I hope she will not be cross with me.'

He dressed in casual clothes, jeans and blue tee-shirt, this was his day off. He cooked breakfast and made coffee. He ate his breakfast, he put his gun in the back of his waistband, he searched for his phone and turned it on.  
He wrote a little note to Lisa, in her bag he took the key card of her room at Mondrian Hotel. He put on his leather jacket and came out of the loft silently.

He sighed with relief when he saw his Ducati parked beside his car in the garage. He will owe a giant steak to Shaw otherwise he was sure she was going to harass him for it. He started his car and he sped up to the Mondrian Hotel. He quickly packed all her clothes, toilet things, computer and he checked that nothing was forgotten. He removed the camera and the bug. In his room he gathered his computer, clothes, tuxedos in the bags Finch brought to him days before. At the reception desk, he paid the bill for his room. He put all the suitcases and bags in the trunk of his car and he dialed Finch.

"Hey Finch, good morning."

"Mr. Reese, how are you this morning? We were worried about you yesterday." Finch demanded with concern.

"A little hangover but I'm fine. I gathered our things and Lisa's at Mondrian Hotel and I paid my bill. I think it's safer for her to call the hotel to sort out her leave."

"I think so. Today is your day off. Have you planned something? "

"Not yet but I will. Tomorrow, Finch."

"Have a nice day, Mr. Reese." They disconnected.

John called the hospital to get news of the little Peter. He was told that the little boy stayed in a stable status, in two days they will be able to determine in which way the evolution will go.

On the way back to his loft he stopped to buy some fresh bread, a bunch of flowers and some foods for two days. He was loaded to the hilt when he entered his loft. He put the foods and flowers on the counter of the kitchen, the suitcases and bags on the floor.

It was 09:00 am. When he checked on Lisa in his bed she was laying on her stomach across the bed, her arms gripping the pillow, her head turned on the side.

He turned back in the kitchen and methodically stored the food in the fridge, the flowers in a vase with water on the counter then his clothes in his closet. Toilet things of Lisa were organized in the bathroom. Her perfume bottle in his hand that smelled so good was named 'Paris' from Yves Saint Laurent. He put her suitcases near his bedroom.

Then he started cleaning his gun, he disassembled it, cleaned it and reassembled it with attention and care. He sensed a presence behind him, turned and aimed with his gun. Lisa raised her hands.

"Good morning John, how are you?" She asked with a grin.

He lowered his gun and said with a chastened voice:

"Fine. I'm sorry Lisa .. for yesterday."

"For what?" She asked with surprise.

"I don't know why I.. I.. I did that." He couldn't say it but he had to.

"Did what?" She pushed.

"I asked you to hold my hand." He admitted.

"You have nothing to apologize John. I'm stunned that you remember that because you were dead drunk."

"Come on in the kitchen I made breakfast for you." He invited her.

In the kitchen, he warmed her coffee and milk and he served her continental breakfast with fresh bread.

"These flowers are beautiful." She looked at him with a smile.

"They are for you." He murmured and he went as red as a beet.

"Oh, thank you, John, this is so kind of you." She truly thought that.

"You're welcome. I brought back your things from the hotel, you will have to deal with them about your leave."

She appreciated her breakfast and ate in a good mood, smelling the flowers in the vase.

"You know John, I would like to go outside of your home, to breathe some fresh air. I am not used to staying inside for so long."

"It's safe for you to keep in hiding sometime. To go outside means that you may be harmed." He was worried that she got bored but he understood that she longed to be free.

After a moment of hesitation, he agreed with himself to plan a little trip for her.

"See, after lunch, we are going to Long Island. I know a place named Hampton Bays with sand beaches, parks, vegan meals, are you interested to visit it?" He proposed with the desire to please her.

"What a question John, of course, we will go swimming and boating and fishing." She enumerated joyfully.

"Sshh, no way someone remarks us, okay?" He dreaded that her exuberance led them to a complicated situation that would be inappropriate.

"Listen to me, you will do exactly what I say. First, you wear normal casual clothes, no flashy colors, you put sunglasses and a cap. Second, you stay beside me always, you don't go alone anywhere in any case. Third, you don't speak to people. You got it right?" He had lectured her, he hoped she would understand his concern.

"Yes, I did. Will I be like your little child and you will accompany me to the restroom?" She contained a laughter.

"Why not? It's a good way to foresee the things." He teased with a chuckle.

He prepared them a little vegan lunch while she showered and she dressed in casual not flashy colored clothes after wearing her red bikini, a mid-calf length white jeans and a pastel blue top with spaghetti straps and white ballerina shoes. She put an underwear change with a towel in a bag. No need to tell John about her envy to dive in the ocean, he lectured her like he was her Dad but she was not going to play his little-disciplined child with the small finger on the seam of trousers because she liked too much swimming and she will not let go away the opportunity.

After lunch, John and Lisa both in casual clothes, sunglasses and caps went down to the garage. They sat in the Finch's black SUV and they sped up toward Long Island. They crossed Brooklyn Bridge and drove on a highway then along the coast road of Long Island. Lisa enjoyed the ride, admiring landscapes and the blue ocean, the white and grey coastal birds.  
She was thrilled like a 'little girl' at her birthday party, this enjoyed John that she was and he didn't regret to have proposed her this trip. He didn't remember how many years he hadn't spent a good time outside, perhaps since he left the agency. John inserted a music CD in the CD reader, his favourite best songs of the 80s: Police 'Every breath you take', George Michael 'One More Try', Simple Minds 'Don't you forget about me', Foreigner 'I want to know what love is', Black 'Wonderful Life', Bruce Springsteen 'Streets of Philadelphia', David Bowie 'Heroes', U2 'With or without you', Don Henley 'The Boys Of Summer', UB40 'Kingston Town'...

When she listened to George Michael 'One More Try' she remembered the New Year evening in Paris with Jim, she blushed and suddenly she interested intensely looking outside to hide her uneasiness.  
After several songs, Lisa turned to him:

"You like this, it is beautiful, isn't it?"

"You know these songs?" John demanded, looking at her surprisingly.

"I wasn't even in my teens that I knew them, my mom adored these 80s songs, she often listened to them all day long." She sighed thinking of her mom and her music.

John reminded himself that she was younger than him of twelve years and she liked the music he liked. He loved how childish and genuine she was, spontaneous and generous, she wasn't conscious of the attraction she appealed to people. Sometimes he imagined her tender figure as a tough soldier in a war conflict land carrying an army gear weighing more than forty pounds on her back, it was hard to believe it but she had done it. All these things worked that he was fully attracted by her but... first he might stay focused on his mission and in the second he had to bury his feelings deep inside him.

Two hours later they arrived in Hampton Bays. John explained that the hamlet was surrounded by three bays and it was the second busiest commercial fishing port in the state of New York. They visited a seafood market, a marina, a little port and Lisa asked John for boating. With a sigh he rent a motorboat Wellcraft, he couldn't refuse anything to her and sure he will be glad too to ride on the ocean. They sailed in the Shinnecock bay and when they were far from the coasts Lisa asked him to stop. John stopped the boat.

"What are you doing?" He saw her undressing.

"I undress to go swimming. Come with me?" She asked with a wide smile.

He stared at her in her red bikini and his blood went down south. She had a tanned skin and an elegant muscular shape with curves in all the right places that gave him shivers down his spine. He would have liked to swim with her but he might stay alert and vigilant. She plunged into the ocean and disappeared for one minute from his sight. He called her.

"Lisa, where are you?" He yelled.

"Here, John." She burst out of laugh seeing John's back bent over the opposite side of the boat as she had swum under it.

It turned him on that she teased him but he waited with patience during an hour, watching her that swam underwater then floated, she crawled, she plunged and she swam lazily between two masses of water, a true whirlwind. He wondered if she was also a tornado under the sheets. He wondered why he couldn't anymore stop his mind to fantasize about her, something escaped from his normal control. He had a hold on his physical emotions much of the time, his thoughts were hidden by his emotionless look and face but now they turned to be obsessional even if he chased them away. His heart raced and pounded in his chest just seeing that she was joyful or when she spoke softly to him.

She cried and laughed when a shoal of fish surrounded her, she reached to catch a little fish in her hand that she threw at him. She laughed when he brushed his tee-shirt and he smiled. He had a so beautiful smile but he didn't often smile, she thought. Finally, she gave up swimming and she climbed into the boat using the ladder. Droplets of water flowed along her body, her bikini stuck to her skin and it didn't hide much of her curves. All a sudden, John felt that his pants lacked space, he swallowed hard roaming her figure up and down and blushed. She sensed his emotion and she took the towel in her bag to cover and dry herself.

"Please, John, turn around." She commanded.

He did and closing his eyes as he imagined her taking her bikini off, standing naked behind him. She took off her wet bikini and she dressed in her underwear then jeans and top. He shuddered when she addressed to him, bringing herself to his eye level, so their eyes established contact and she talked slowly:

"Please, John can you show me how to drive the boat?"

John raised his brows and ran his hand through his hair.

"Of course. Come here." He showed her how to place herself between the steering wheel and his body. He stood behind her, feeling her back brushing his chest, he was immersed in her nude shoulders and the base of her breasts. He tried to keep a good attitude to give her a lesson on operating a boat.

"Before you turn the motor on, you connect the safety cut off device here and you put the wire around your right wrist like that." While explaining he did the things guiding her right hand with his.

"Then you turn on the motor with the start key, here." She turned the start key and the motor droned hard.

"Always keep your left hand on the steering wheel and the right hand on the gas handle." He guided her hands with his hands on hers.

"Then you slowly push up on the gas handle like that." His hand on hers pushed up on the gas handle.

"I didn't mind it was so easy." She giggled.

"It's not so easy, this is just a very tiny piece of the practice, Lisa. You must be careful about what is on the surface of the water."

"You have your boating permit, John." She noticed.

"Of course. I'm licensed to drive even more powerful motorboat than this one, until ninety feet long like motor yachts."

"Tell me what you don't know how to do." She was curious to know that.

"I'm not going to tell you all my secrets." He chucked.

She bent back her head on his shoulder and looked up at him.

"I bet that you will do it if I insist." She challenged him.

"Do you intend to torture me?" He hotly murmured in her ear. He was getting warm with her body against his, her hands under his, her soft voice, her bantering, he had to control himself and manage a cool-headed. Hopefully, he was helped by the nearness of the port so he took the controls of the boat to enter in and to do docking maneuvers.

He held her hand to get up on the pier. They both were content with their sailing and they were hungry. John decided to drive toward the highway they will take later when they will return to Manhattan.  
He spotted a Caribbean restaurant 'The Rumba'* and he stopped. This was a restaurant that felt like a tropical location, with a view of the ocean, the beach and live reggae music. They installed in the outside seating area and they ordered pre-dinner drinks, 'Dark and Stormy' for her that was 'rum, ginger beer, lime' and 'Hot and Stormy' for him that was ' banana vanilla rum, jalapeno, ginger beer'. They toasted their glasses and they took a sip of their drink.

"Oh, it tastes good but it's heavy in rum." She blew in the air and smiled.

"Want to taste mine? " He proposed giving her his glass. She tasted the 'Hot and Stormy' and the spiciness of the jalapeno pepper made her cough.

He smiled wide looking how she tried to contain her coughing.

"I love it when you smile." She said between two coughs. Her sweet words made John's heart raced and pounded in his chest. He gazed at her intensely and hoped that she said it again.

They ordered their menu, 'The Mampie Mahi' for her that is Cajun-grilled Atlantic fish, fried shrimp, creole reduction sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, Sauteed Spinach and 'Dominican Ribs' for him with Sweet chili ginger soy glaze, fresh herbs because he thought he would need some energy tonight. In dessert 'Coconut Cream Pie' for both of them and two Select Beer as a beverage.

They ate and talked about things and others, John intensely covering her with velvet eyes and her shifting in her chair as she was uneasy and shy to be scrutinized. He stared at her when she brought a morsel of food in her mouth, when she drank her beer, hanging onto her every word when she talked. Really she was disturbed by his beautiful blue-grey eyes that didn't take off of her. She felt an intensive tension between them that had risen along the hours and she didn't handle how to deal with it. She didn't like to have her back to the wall, to be out of control with her feelings, she always calculated the pros and cons in her life but with John, this process didn't apply, she was helpless like a spell had been placed onto her.

John sensed her emotions. She was shy and genuine but highly feminine and attractive and it had warmed him up all the afternoon. He needed her so badly that he couldn't wait to return to his loft. Suddenly, he felt weak and vulnerable. He surrendered, he was completely under her spell and to fight his feelings was becoming highly painful. He had tried to overcome his emotions since the beginning, to reason himself and to focus on his job, to disregard his needs but today he couldn't anymore. His heart claimed to love, his body needed warmth, his lost soul searched for a home to rest. With what she confessed to him about her childhood, her army time, she was a broken soul too, with dark shades that haunted her, a lack of love, she wasn't a killer or a monster but she was a little like him, lost.

Lisa told John that she needed to go to the restroom.

"I go with you." He answered.

"John, you act as you were my Dad, this is not funny." She said, frowning.

"Thank goodness I'm not." He smiled with softness.

"You wait here. I can take care of myself." She firmly said to him, she was angry now.

She stood up and forwarded to the restroom. When she came back, she met one of the musicians that murmured something in her ear. She smiled and blushed hard. John noticed the excited look the young man laid on her. He deep breathed to get rid of the wave of jealousy and anger that surged through him. He asked her dryly:

"What did the guy tell you, Lisa?"

"He could hire me in the music group." She laughed.

"Really? And what did you say to him?" He was cold and curious.

"Nothing. My future is compromised as you know. My objectives are out of scope. I'm stuck with you until a happy ever after or until the worst happens."

He looked at her wide-eyed. John was shaken as he felt that something more emotionally could damage him. He took her hand in both of his and kissed her fingers.

"You know that I'm here to help you. No one will hurt you as long you stay with me. I promised you." He murmured.

"You don't have to do that. You risk your life as if it's a little thing. Why are you essentially committed to the cause of saving people who can't help themselves?" She felt sadness and guilt. She removed her hand from his.

Her words affected him deeply, she read in his soul. He stared at her with emotion.

After the dessert, John paid the bill and they forwarded to the car. He pulled away toward the highway in direction of Manhattan. John drove at breakneck speed so one hour and a half after they arrived at Baxter Street. He parked the car and two minutes later they were in his loft.

* * *

* Rumba restaurant has a Facebook page: Search on Facebook RUMBA Inspired Island Cuisine and Rum Bar

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	8. Chapter 8 First Night

John and Lisa fusion. Warning, mature sexual scenes. If you dislike, don't read. Romantic and sexy Reese as hell, he falls under the spell of his person of interest.

* * *

Chapter 8

Lisa immediately went to the bathroom to shower in order to remove the salt from her skin. She washed her hair too. She brushed her teeth. She rubbed her body with a lotion cream based on a rose extract to moisturize and soften her skin. Then she dressed in her night clothes, little pink shorts, a pink top with red hearts on the front and spaghetti straps, a satin pink robe.

When she came out of the bathroom John did the same, he showered, brushed his teeth and put a fresh under-shirt and a tracksuit. He stayed barefoot, as usual, the evening after the shower. He gathered all his clothes and Lisa's and put them in the washing machine with washing liquid and turned it on.

Lisa was sitting on the couch and holding the remote.

"Do you want a beer, Lisa?" He asked.

"Why not." She responded, turning on the TV and switching on the news.

John joined her on the couch with two fresh beers that he put on the table. To relax the tension she decided to talk to him.  
Lisa didn't know anything about John, she opened her to him about her life but he didn't reciprocate. He kept closed like an oyster when she tried to look deeper into his life. So she demanded him:

"John, can I ask you something ?"

"Everything."

"Will you answer me sincerely?"

"Yes, I will." He shifted on the couch.

"Where are your parents?" She took a sip of her beer.

"I'm an adopted child and I never had contact with my birth family. I was close with my adoptive father Connor, he was an Army soldier and died shortly after returning from his fourth combat tour in Vietnam when I was a child. My adoptive mother, Margaret, also died." His eyes were bound on the screen of the TV.

"Have you a brother, a sister, a girlfriend?" She continued her questions as he was willing to open him to her.

"I have no siblings. I lost a woman I truly loved, she died, I failed to save her." He drank some of his beer and turned off the TV.

"What did you do after your school years?" She continued, taking another sip of her beer.

"At eighteen I was forced to choose between jail or enlisting in the military because of a violent fight I was involved in as a young man. I served as a Ranger, Special Forces Delta on four short tours and one long tour of duty, including service in Afghanistan and Iraq. Later I joined the CIA as a Paramilitary Operations Officer in the Special Activities Division of CIA's National Clandestine Service. The CIA hired me to protect my country and they betrayed me. I did very bad things, you know." He said with a throaty voice.

"You obeyed the orders that your government gave you, you were not responsible for the bad things." She answered to soothe his guilt.

"Sometimes I killed bad people but other times I didn't know if they were really bad and I did it anyway. I became a killer. I don't like killing but I'm very good at it. I learned how to kill in a quick and less painful manner. When you take a life, you lose a part of yourself, not everything but just the part that matters the most. You know I'm always stuck with questions about the purpose of the missions." He struggled when he said the last words. When he finished he was pale, he put his beer on the table and looked at his hands and saw blood on them.

He had opened him to her, he didn't tell Finch so much of his past than he told her. If she rejected him it would be now, he knew that she would be scared of him, that she would hate him and that she would keep her distance from him. He failed to bury his feelings so it was the last thing to do to push her out of his life. He thought that it would be better like that. He would stay alone in the shadow. Then he continued to confess:

"You can't cure someone of guilt. There was a time I thought to say goodbye. Then I met Finch. He gave me a purpose, he gave me a job. We help people out of tough situations."

Hearing his admission Lisa felt a pang in her chest. She realized that John didn't have had much love. He had been abused by his country in which he had faith. He was all alone and he risked his life to save people. His soul was shattered and he believed that his death was the only way to earn his forgiveness.  
She stayed speechless, unmoving, she breathed deep to control herself but despite everything tears uncontrollably shed out her eyes and dropped on her cheeks. The fact that he was helping her increased her guilt and her sadness, she was one bad pawn that would perhaps contribute to his loss.

"Lisa, why are you crying?" He took the beer from her hand and put it on the table. He filled the gap between them and with a look of concern he brushed his fingers on her face and wiped her tears with his thumbs. She was sobbing now and trembling. He took her in his embrace, rubbing her back with one hand the other resting on the back of her neck stroking her hair. She pressed her hands to his large chest, fisting his under-shirt and leaned her head in the hollow of his neck.

She was overwhelmed by a rush of affection, compassion and some more for this awesome man she didn't know a few days ago, who saved her life without any hesitation because it was his job. In the need to redeem himself, he was doing that all along with people. How could he always live in a 'save-the-world' mode to the cost of his own life?  
His kindness and selflessness moved her to the bottom of her heart.

She wished to comfort him and more. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and murmured with softness and conviction:

"John, you are punishing yourself for things that you couldn't control and now you have committed yourself to a lifetime of reparation where you are eventually going to end up dead. Listen to me, your life is as worthy than mine or than all the ones you saved. "

The tension that raised between them since hours was going to explode sooner, she thought, and she was willing this most of all.

Her words turned him upside-down, he couldn't fight anymore the envy to kiss her and he did it. Tightening her closer to him, he caressed her jaw with his long fingers and gently brushed his lips against hers, turning her head to get a better angle, moving his mouth on hers. He parted his lips and took hers in his mouth. She felt butterflies in her stomach. She rolled her arms around his back.  
They laid back on the couch, John on top of her, straddling one of her legs. He undid the belt of her robe and opened it to feel the warmth of her skin against him. His wet, soft and warm lips troubled her and she stopped breathing, emotions stuck in her throat.  
His kiss soon became demanding as he commanded her with his soft low voice:

"Please Lisa, open your mouth." She did what he demanded and she unleashed the breath she was holding back.

He slid the tip of his tongue inside her mouth and gently moved it against the tip of hers. He swept it along the inside of her lower lip. He moved it slowly and lightly, increasing speed and pressure with light, darting movements.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she kissed him back with fever brushing his teeth and internal walls of his mouth with her tongue. He slowly deepened and hardened the strokes plunging his tongue into her opened mouth, designing the seam of her internal lips, caressing her teeth, devouring her tongue. His kiss became intense and passionate and with equal passion, her tongue dueled with his for control, letting each one of them turn around each other. He was a skilled kisser, she thought.

She moaned and rubbed herself against his body feeling his hard erection pressed against her thigh and a rush of heat ran down between her legs.

Comforted by her ardor he caressed her shoulder and her breast through the fabric of her top with one hand while his other hand was around her waist, pulling her closer to his body. They broke the kiss to get some air and he whispered in her ear, nipping at her neck:

"Lisa I need you."

"I need you more John." She murmured, her eyes locked with his, her mouth slightly open.

John surprisingly discovered that her hazel-green eyes were greener tonight, he never did before.

'There, we are. She needs me as strongly as I need her. She is going to kill me kissing me like that.' John thought while his heart pounded in his chest like to burst out.

Kissing her again with passion, he stood up and he lifted her up in his arms and walked them to his king-sized bed. He delicately placed her in the middle of the bed and laid him on top of her. They kissed since to be breathless as he dreamt of it for many days. They kissed rubbing against each other during long minutes. She nibbled and she sucked his lower lip then after his upper lip and she felt his bulge growing harder against her. She undulated and she panted under him and she liked his weight crushing her. John kneaded her bottom, and he pressed her so close that he was near to come just kissing her. He broke the kisses to slow the tempo. He helped her to take out his under-shirt. In a hurry, he undressed her with dexterity, robe, sweet rosy shorts and sweet rosy top and he sent them flying around the bed. She lowered his tracksuit and she put it on the floor. They were both naked, laying clasped on their side, face to face, gazing at each other.

"You are beautiful Lisa. Your skin is so soft." Caressing her body up and down, cupping her full shaped nice-looking breasts with his large hands.

"John, you are ...beautiful too." Glancing at his virile member pointing like an arrow to her attention. She had never seen impressive sex as he had and she was impressed and nervous about it at the same time.

He smiled, he liked to be comforted by his virile ego. Drawing the curve of her breasts with his fingers he noticed between them a small tattoo of a scarab with red, turquoise and dark blue colors.

"Why this nice scarab tattoo, Lisa?" Stroking it with his index and kissing it.

"In the desert, I observed these scarabs and I was fascinated by how they adapted to the lack of water. At night the scarab gathers on its carapace the condensation of the humidity. In order to drink, it bends towards and droplets slide on its back till its mouth. In Ancient Egypt it's like the solar god who comes alive again every morning at dawn, it's the symbol of rebirth for the dead and a protective emblem for the living. For me, this tattoo is an ode to the life." She breathed the last words hoping they would appeal John in her world, far from the low opinion he had of himself.

While she spoke, John was roaming his hands everywhere and nibbling her neck. He thought that she was a positive, curious and enthusiast person and he held her closer in his arms.

"You like the life, Lisa, now you made me like scarabs but enough speaking." John breathed, trailing wet kisses between her breasts, earning a moan of her. He rubbed his hips against hers, his desire was growing so hard that he had to control himself, to be gentle with her otherwise he would have taken her with all his strength and his energy.

Lisa pushed John on his back and she laid her on top of him, her forehead against his, her chest against his, her belly against his, her sex against his, her thighs tightened against his, her feet against his calves. She cupped his cheeks in her hands while he caressed her back, her sides, her behind and her arms with his and she murmured on his lips:

"I am going to caress and kiss every inch of your skin till you beg me to stop, John."

"Don't count on me to beg you to stop Lisa, I am longing for this moment since the first second I saw you." He spoke these words out on the spur of the moment with such naivety that he surprised himself.

Taking her time she caressed and she kissed his short hair, his salt and pepper temples, his forehead, his eyelids, his nose and high cheekbones, writhing her body on his, while he rubbed his into hers and he softly mouthed her breasts.  
She nibbled his earlobes, sucking where his neck and shoulder joined owning a moan of him. He took her head in his hands and he kissed her hungrily as his life depended on it. Kissing him back her hands ran along his arms, his shoulders up and down many times. She noticed his wrinkles on his forehead and in the corner of his eyes and she kissed them, she liked the marks of his age on his face and she watched them with speechless awe. John was watching her watching him.

"You like what you see?" He demanded with a suave voice.

"You have no idea how." She whispered and she took his mouth with hers in a consuming kiss. He kissed her back with hot passionate strokes of his tongue that burned her as she almost lost the control of what she was intending to do. He smiled in her mouth and he let her continue her exploration.

She slid down and kissed his breasts, each one, she licked and she sucked his nipples making them hardened and he breathed out and he hissed with pleasure. She licked and she kissed all the scars she found on his torso that stamped his tortured past. How many bullets, blows, cuts and torture his body had endured, she thought. Her heart was aching at the sight of his body all slashed. Her fingers caressed his chest with light touches everywhere his skin was ripped by brown, blank or rosy stigmata. She loved his body, it was the illustration of his devoted soul.

He was liking all she was touching on him, breathing and sighing in rhythm with her moving sucking lips, soft exploring hands, light touching fingers and twisting body. John was so hard for her that it began to be painful. She drove him so insanely impatient that he wanted to be inside her right now. He swiftly rolled her onto her back but she anticipated his reaction and she rolled him on his back again using all her strength as she learned in her training sessions. He sighed:

"Lisa, please let me do..."

"Not yet, John". She cut him off.

She slid downwards and she lavished with kisses his stomach, circling with her tongue his belly button while her hands were caressing his chest, his sides then down his muscular thighs. His penis was throbbing against her neck and it sent a heated flow between her legs. She was aroused since their first kiss and now she was on fire. Thinking to explore John's body first she continued on her way down. Licking and kissing his long and thick penis made him gasp and jerk upward. She rubbed her fingers against his thighs and she sat on her heels, she bent his legs to kiss one after one along his inner thighs, his knees, his calves, his ankles and his feet with fervor.

John felt cherished as he had never been. The great sensuality and care she revealed in their first lovemaking transcended beyond all he had ever experienced with other women. He was floating before riding the wave of higher.

Lisa lifted herself up between his thighs, she bent her head over his impressive hard pulsating cock, tenderly she took it in her hand, then in her mouth. She heard him hiss and sigh heavily.  
As his penis was long and large she took as she could in her mouth and she wrapped the base in her hand. She sucked on the head first gently at a slow pace, synchronizing the moves of her hand with her mouth. She took more of him into her mouth each time she sucked downward, till she couldn't anymore. She sucked him softly upward and downward, again and again, she licked and she sucked the head, twisting her tongue around it while her hand stroke his length.

She kissed and she licked the slit of the tip of his penis, tasting the salted pre-cum and down along the veins of his shaft, she also softly caressed and she licked his balls and John enjoyed that as he was hissing at every lick and suck she did. He was rolling his head right to left on the pillow, his hands caressing her hair and his hips jerking upwards demanding more. The tip of her tongue rounded the ring under his head more times, raspy sounds went out the throat of John as he grabbed onto the sheets.

"Oh god, Lisa..Aaah.." He shouted lifting his hips up, he was almost out of control so much he liked what she did just now.

She continued to lick and to suck his head and the ring under it. She licked all the length of his penis, all around, letting no inch without her tongue on it. Then she sped the sucking pace, making him moan and gasp. She appreciated caressing John like this as much as him. His body was gorgeous and sensitive to her caresses and she was doing something with him that he enjoyed. She knew he was close to coming.

John was close but he didn't want to come in her mouth the first time.

"Stop Lisa, come here." He moaned out of breath to her.

As she didn't, he warned her.

"Lisa I said stop that." Grabbing her under her arms, it took all his control to stop her and he lifted her up onto her back. He was breathing heavily while he climbed on top of her.

"You beg me to stop." She said with a pout of frustration.

"Lisa, I need to make love to you, I need you to call my name all-night-long, I need you, Lisa". He breathed deep caressing her face and kissing her with passion. She kissed him back with equal fervor. They didn't realize the bond that was built right here and now because they were all in it.

John surrendered and admitted to himself. He didn't want her, he needed her. He didn't want to fuck her, he needed to make love to her. He wanted to pleasure her as long as he could and to hear her call his name. He took her breasts in his mouth one after one and he sucked them lovingly, taking his time, then he nibbled and he sucked her sweet rosy nipples, making them hardened. He lowered to trail wet licks and kisses on her stomach. Her skin smelled like the rose flower and was soft under his hands. She undulated under his caresses with soft sighs and little jumps when he woke up sensitive spots on her body that he had to remember. Reaching her thighs he bent them over his shoulders, he wished to taste her intimate inside. Her apex was waxed and neat and it displayed to his sight like a jewel in a showcase. Her clit and entrance were hidden by her closed folds, John was impressed and wonder-struck by the most lovely little sex he had ever seen and by the precious treasure he sure was going to discover behind the little doors. He looked up at her, her head on the pillows, she was gazing at him through her half-closed eyes, a smooth smile on her parted lips. Seemingly, she was patiently waiting for him to finish his contemplation.

He swallowed hard when he bent his head between her spread legs. He kissed her inner thighs till her knees then he focused on her sex. The tip of his tongue delicately licked the line of her closed folds, up and down several times, till he gathered the wet droplets of her desire. Her breath became short and she moaned. He softly parted her folds with his fingers and he feasted his eyes upon a look-alike exotic rosy flower. Then he lightly licked and he sucked her clit and her entrance, up and down, left to right without stopping. When he pressed his warm open mouth on her soft wet heat and he entered his tongue and he moved it forward and backward, twisting it for more stimulation she arched her back and she cried his name, gripping his hair.  
He was already driving her crazy. He maintained the pressure as he tongued her inside with delight, hearing her 'Ooh' and 'Aah' and 'Joohn' when he plunged into it deeper again and again. He fingered her clit while he whirled his tongue around her entrance, plunging it again inside over and over. He could feel shivers covering her thighs. He took one of her hand in his and he intertwined their fingers, making her know that he was connected with her.

Lisa mumbled low, soft sounds with uncontrollable jumps of her hips against his frenzied mouth. A sudden run of heat down her belly announced her orgasm's birth. She trembled and she cried his name and she gripped harder his scalp. When she climaxed, John felt the tremors of her walls against his tongue and he drank her spasms and liquids with fervor till the storm pulled away. He softly kissed her sex many times and he rested his head on her belly, caressing her sides, waiting for her to land on earth. When her breath returned to normal he lifted himself up on top of her, he hugged her and he gave her a devastating kiss. She kissed him back murmuring words that he didn't understand.

He couldn't stand any longer so much he needed to plunge into her, so much hard as ever, he was.

"I need to be inside you, Lisa. " Reaching in the night-stand he grasped a condom.

"No need John, I'm on the pills." She said with a little smile. He smiled too, kissing her. She noticed that his eyes color had changed to dark-blue giving him a feral animal look.

He parted wider her legs with his powerful thighs and guided his raging length into her tender warm entrance. Lisa locked her eyes with his, her hands gripping hard on his shoulders, her nails digging into his flesh, she was tensed. John sensed that she was scared and holding back, he was bothered but he understood.

"Relax Lisa, listen to me, trust me, don't be afraid, I am going to softly enter inside you. I promise I won't hurt you. If I do, tell me to stop and I will." He whispered in his lowest voice, nibbling her earlobe.

'How a tall tough soldier, ex-CIA agent, firearms specialist he was, could be so soft and attentive in wording on this delicate subject about her fear because of his impressive sex instrument.' She thought in one go.

She was overwhelmed and grateful that he behaved with her in this hot steamy moment.  
Leaning on his forearms, cupping her face in his hands, locking his beautiful dark-blue eyes with hers, he entered inside her slowly, inch by inch. Her inside was soft as silk but also very tight. Its tightness increased the pressure on his penis and heightened his pleasure before things began to start. He slid carefully into her. He was feeling the sensation of a closed home which was opening itself to him, which welcomed him to its hot sweet room. This initiated a powerful emotion he managed to control. After several little jolts that caused her disquieted reflexes and sighs and that caused him amused smiles, he filled her completely to the hilt and he remained still to let her adjust.

"That's it, are you okay?" John murmured hotly in her ear.

Lisa rolled her arms behind his neck and she kissed him passionately before she breathed :

"John, fly us further away, higher." She begged him and she began to move, giving him the signal he was waiting for.

"Good, let yourself go." John whispered on her lips.

He planned to make sweet, sweet love to her. He began to move in a slow rhythm, with long, deep strokes, coming out of her then entering her, that she appreciated as she moaned at every move he did into her. She locked a leg around his waist to pull him closer. His slow strokes initiated a dance of their bodies that she wanted it would last forever. He continued to thrust into her slowly over and over, looking on her face how she enjoyed the pleasure he gave her. She tightened him closer. Her breath raced, she sighed with little noises. She whispered his name many times, caressed his sides, his back and his large shoulders. She met his strokes softly, moving upward with him then moving backward with him, then in the heat of the action, she bounced her hips with his so energetically that she lifted his strong body up. She surprised him and he thrust harder into her, again and again, stepping up the pace.

"Do you like it like this Lisa?" He murmured in her mouth, kissing her fully, always caring for what she liked.

Since their bodies became one her eyes were locked with his, her lips parted in a little ecstatic smile like she saw paradise. John felt proud that was him the source of her contentment.

"Yes, I do, ooh, Joohn, Joohn, ooh my God." She chanted when her second orgasm was twisting from her stomach down her core.

He knew she was close as she was writhing underneath him like a wild kitten, her nails scratching his back to blood, her chest heaving up and down, her smiling lips parted. He stopped his movements to calm their bodies, wishing more time inside her, liking too much her passionate and sensitive sides that drove him wild.

"John, why do you stop?" She complained.

"I wish this to last longer, it's so good with you Lisa." He said softly, cupping her face in his hands.

He remained still one minute but when he refocused on thrusting into her she drove him again quickly wild with her hard bounces and she led him to pump harder and faster again and again with restlessness. She controlled him with her energetic softness, he couldn't fight anymore her strong desire to give herself to him. They were both close and he wanted her to come with him at the same time.

"Lisa, come and fly with me, sweetheart." He murmured with a stirring tone of voice, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

He thrust harder and deeper into her over and over bringing them near the brink, he felt the shivers running all over her body, her walls clenching around his cock, tightening it, massaging it, swallowing it and appealing for his own release. Their orgasms ran and exploded together.  
She climaxed so hard that her body burst in thousand pieces like a crystal vase crashing on the floor.  
John stiffened, arched his head back and emptied his life liquid into her murmuring her name with a husky voice while she softly shouted his.  
He fell onto her, his head beside hers. He slightly slid on his side, rolling her with him, to not crush her, but still sexually connected. They slowly came down from their heights, panting, caressing each other. He found her beautiful when she came back from her ecstasy, she looked at him like he was the most wonderful man in the world, this made him grow fond of her.

Lisa held John in her arms, her fingers stroking his short hair, her lips kissing his eyelids. She was overwhelmed by what she just experienced now with him. He was so attentive, so loving, so passionate and a so skilled lover. He brought her out of herself physically and emotionally. The intense tension between them had finally exploded in this amazing union she had unconsciously wished since the first time she met him.  
She had unshed tears of emotion in her eyes that she held back and she calmed down.

"Lisa, my baby, you are amazing, I never had a lady making love to me as you did." He sighed with emotion, holding her closer to him.

"You too John, you made me feel things I never felt before, God bless my path crossed yours."

They kissed devouring their mouths.

"I want to thank you." She murmured on his lips.

"For what?" John demanded, nibbling at her lower lip, entwining his fingers with hers.

"For giving yourself to me. You have a so beautiful soul John, like Private Witt's. Every woman would feel blessed to know and love you."

She surprised him one more time with these kind words never anyone said him before. He thought she was very special, she said to him lovely words, she had always smiled in ecstasy even when she climaxed in contrary than other women who had crushing pain faces, she was willing to give the best of herself to pleasure the man he was and without shyness to show him that he pleasured her. She had a great heart, she was both sensitive and explosive as a volcano and yes he admitted that he loved that, and she gave him all that in a heartbeat tonight. In plus, she had a devilishly beautiful body that made him weak in the knees and hard in his crotch just imagining what it did to him.

His penis jerked and hardened inside her. He caressed her hair, he kissed her with such ardor and passion that he made her almost faint in his arms. His mouth lavished her neck and her breasts one by one.

"John you are burning me with your hands and your mouth." she whispered with light laughter.

"Hum, I know someone who is going to love how to light the fire off after it devoured you."

John rolled him on top of her, his cock becoming harder and larger into her. He lifted her left leg, he bent it towards her shoulder and he began to thrust hard again into her with more fervor than before. She wondered where he got this intensity and energy, he had an insatiable desire and impressive stamina for a man in his mid-forty. He pounded into her heat relentlessly, changing the angle to hit her G spot. She cried when he hit it. He slid in and out of her over and over, targeting her spot, making her crazy, out of control, in agony. Lisa felt the great shivers running all over her body and her third orgasm soon rushed from her stomach down her core. When she climaxed hard, she continued to follow his thrusts, she strongly held John and got him with her out of the edge enjoying his warm liquid raining inside her. They shouted their name in their mouths that were bound in a searing kiss. They both slowly came back from their heights holding each other in their arms, panting and sweating but sated and content.

Her heart slashed her chest just thinking about the fact that she was now unable to be with another man than him. She was tied heart and soul with him and she would die if she couldn't have him in her life forever. She knew she found her soulmate this night in this burning loving warrior, after this first mind-blowing lovemaking, she admitted herself that she was falling hard in love with John. He was the best thing that happened in her life for a long time. He was now her everything. Never before she had felt such an emotional connection with a man. Of course, both the physical side and sexual attraction were two contributing factors but above that, she sensed in him a deep thirst for love, of happiness and share that he needed to quench. So did she.  
She wanted all of him, his soul, his mind, his body till the end of her life. She would give him a home, children, a family, she would resurrect the dual harmony peace and love, sure he had buried deep in him. She would be his anchor. She will tell him when the time will come. Not now, she needed to enjoy this time with him, tomorrow is another day.

John slid on his back, tightening her on his side.

"I need to shower, come with me?" John murmured in her neck.

"Yes and we will sleep after." she giggled.

"Believe it, I am not tired, not sleepy, not done with you, not..."

"Stop it, I am sure a warm shower will limp you like a marshmallow." She laughed putting her hand on his mouth.

"Try it?" And John swiftly picked her up in his arms and he strode to the bathroom.

They laughed like two teenagers playing games in the schoolyard. In the shower, he let her on her feet, he opened the water and he adjusted the heat to warm. Warm water flowed over their bodies and they began to wash each other with a flavored soap. After a while they touched each other their mutual arousal grew so intensely that the shower was no longer their principal objective. John pinned her against the tiled wall, grounding his hips into hers, devouring her mouth. He trailed kisses all over her body, kneeling before her, tonguing her belly and down her intimate folds. He wanted to taste her rosy flower again as she had liked it before. His hands on her hips, he lifted her left leg over his shoulder and he softly sucked her clit that made her sway, then he licked her entrance up and down more times then he plunged his tongue in her heat mimicking sex moves he previously gave her with his cock.  
She grabbed his hair, sensitive she was because of his previous loving thrusts, her legs were shaking and she was barely able to stand up.

"John I can't .." Closing her eyes to find some strength to resist the pleasure that already forwarded to her core.

"Oh yes you can and you are going to love it, even more, my sweet little bird." He murmured with his hot mouth eating her inside, his tongue plunged deeper into her and withdrew at a speed rhythm.

"Jooohn, oh my..." She whispered in agony.

Very soon he gathered in his mouth the tremors of her climax while she yelled his name and she fell on her knees, sobbing.  
He sat cross-legged, he caught her and he held her straddling on his thighs, against him. He consoled her during long minutes till her sobs faded. She bent her legs on each side of his torso, her feet on the floor, her arms around his neck and she leaned onto him in his embrace. He gripped her body against his and he kissed her neck, sighing and moaning while she gently sucked his earlobe. He needed her as he had never needed a woman before, so she was attentive, soft and loving with him.

"Lisa I need you so much, kiss me and take me inside of you." John whispered with a smooth pleading voice.

They kissed with adoration, their tongues dancing in their mouths until to be breathless, then she took his hard throbbing penis in her hand and she guided it to her hot entrance. She languidly balanced her hips forward to be filled with it. John felt his cock penetrate her deeper than ever, he was over the moon. She moved with softness imposing her back-and-forth rhythm at a very very slow pace. John gripped her hips and he helped in her balancing. She slid forward and backward on his cock, over and over, riding him like an Amazon on her horse. She had full control to pleasure him on her own whilst the physical effort was intense, thanks to her daily workout. She initiated twisting moves around his cock that made him whimper.  
John rubbed her sides and her back, her thighs, her breasts, her behind working on him while rocking his body with hers. She was heaven in his arms, tears were burning in his eyes, thanks to the water to hide them.

"Lisa, Lisa, you are making me die, honey, with your slow sliding." John breathed arching back his head, pressing his hands into the flesh of her hips.

"Don't speak like that, I'm making you alive for me, my l..." She whispered kissing his forehead.

Lisa sped up and hardened her forwarding thrusts while she moved backward at an always slowly pace.

They both moaned and gasped at every stroke, eyes locked with each other, caressing, kissing.  
She kept this pace till John's head fell back as his orgasm rose in his belly. He crushed his torso closer to her, she sped her back-and-forth rhythm, a new orgasm birthing in her stomach too.

"Lisa, give it all of you to me, come with me baby, please." He whispered in her mouth.

Only hearing his words she shivered and climaxed hard, seeing stars, a few seconds later he stiffened spurting his precious semen into her. They exploded like a firework, crying their name in harmony. They remained entwined, she caressed and kissed every inch of his face while he hugged her tightly. She heard he said her loving words 'my sweet little bird', 'honey' and 'baby', did he really mind them or was it on the spur of the moment?

"Lisa, I'm in heaven with you. How can you do that to me? " He murmured, sucking hard in her neck, marking her as his, pressing her breasts against his chest, one hand on her back, the other on her butt.

"You help John, you greatly help my angel." She worded with sincerity, circling his face with her hands. John said her so lovely words, she wanted to tell him so a lot of things but she struggled to do it right now. She will say things to him in time.  
John heard her saying 'my angel' to him. He held her tighter, shivers running down his spine, kissing her like he was starving.

"You are mine. There is no turning back, Lisa." He murmured warmly in her mouth, his dark blue-grey eyes locked with hers while claiming her as his.

She jolted when she heard him wording his possessiveness toward her and she looked at him thoughtfully. They were on the same wavelength. She smiled on cloud nine that she was his, she was happy and she told him:

"You are mine too. As long as you want it." She gave him a full desperate kiss, hoping that nothing bad would happen to them. He felt her despair and murmured with hope:

"I give you my word that we're gonna make it, we're gonna do it my way, honey." He rubbed her back and kissed her breasts.

"We dry and we go rest, hum John. " She recalled, yawning.

"Yes, little rest, just for you, the night is young and I don't know enough about you." He teased her with a wide beautiful toothy smile.

"I love it when you smile." She said for the second time.

She noisily kissed his open mouth and they got up to rinse them and dried each other with a large towel.

They returned in the bed, under the comforter and laid beside, curled up against each other, her back on his chest, his arms around her body, her hands on his arms, their legs entangled. They quickly sank into a deep comfortable sleep.  
They didn't count how many times they awoke and made love in the night, how strong orgasms they gave each other, how loud they shouted their names, resting between each round, tangling their sweaty hungry bodies till they were so exhausted that they completely collapsed out of energy.

The morning light seeped into the loft, John slightly opened his eyes and looked at Lisa sprawled upon his chest, one of her arms around his waist, one of her legs between his. He caressed her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

The timing was short but he couldn't deny the fact that he was falling hard for her.  
He had made love with her as he never had before, with all his soul and the bottom of his heart.  
He had felt and enjoyed her softness, tenderness, care and something more as love, yes love. She had given all of her to him and taken him as he was, she made him exist and experience emotions with such energetic vibrations, she brought him in her world with her eyes, another world, she gave him hope. He was not alone anymore.

He wondered how would be a normal life with her, how it would be possible to him to have a home with her, his children with her, to make wonderful love to her every day, to stay with her till the end of his life. He sensed that she was in love with him, that she would be his second chance.

John was stunned by what he was thinking right now. Being emotionally involved with a number may be dangerous and even lethal for his life, but she was worth it. He knew he endangered all the people he cared about. That was to say that she could be hurt because of him. She would be a leverage that his enemies would use against him. Tears shed on the side of his eyes, he swiftly wiped them and turned his gaze to the window. His look returned on her sleeping frame, confident and abandoned, he tightly embraced her.  
He wanted to love her as strongly and secretly as possible. She will be his secret garden. He was so happy this morning. He wished to realize his dream with her. No way, he will not let her go, ever.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	9. Chapter 9 Day After

After their stormy night, John is happy. The day after is dedicated to locating the threat.

Warning: Comfort with mature scenes at the beginning and the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9

John reluctantly got off the bed. After a shower, he dressed in his work clothes and went to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast and coffee. Lisa slowly awoke patting the empty side of John. She smelled the good coffee he usually did in the morning.  
She got off, wore her robe and forwarded to the kitchen. John was cooking pancakes, his back to her. She walked like a thief behind him and circled her arms around him, pressing her body against his back. He cut the heat below the ready pancakes. He turned face to her and he wrapped her in his arms, he caressed her long hair, her cheeks, and he bent his head to kiss her lips with passion. She was standing on tiptoe and she climbed up his shoes to have her face on the same level as his. She snaked her arms around his neck and she kissed him back pouring all she felt for him in her embrace.

"Morning my lovely little bird." John said in her mouth.

"Morning John." She murmured on his lips.

He found her so loving, feminine and childish at the same time that he felt an urge to bury himself in her. His erection grew fast and hard and she felt it against her thigh. Her fingers began to unbutton the third button of his shirt.

Stopping her fingers he stammered:

"SShh, Lisa, I'm going to be late at work. I will love you passionately tonight, baby, as often as you wish." He tried to resist but he failed. She kissed him lovingly, she turned him on. He undid her robe and he made it slide from her body. She unbuttoned again his shirt.

"No, I keep my clothes on me, Lisa." He whispered, taking her hands off of his shirt.

He unbuckled his belt, he unbuttoned and unzipped his pants, he lowered his pants and boxer briefs just enough to free his rock hard cock then he grasped her thighs and he lifted her up against him, holding her under her butt, she clasped her ankles behind his waist to steady herself and he entered her in one slow thrust. He forwarded toward the fridge and he pinned her against it. She jolted at the coldness of the door of the fridge and she soon focused on the lovely face of John.  
They locked their eyes and they joined their mouths while John began to thrust into her first slowly then harder, deeper at a speedy pace. She couldn't move as she was trapped between the fridge and his strong body. He was doing all the work. She tried to push herself against him using her shoulders as leverage, he moaned loudly when she did it. After a few minutes, they both were so excited, moaning, gasping, breathing noisily that John pounded into her frantically.  
She shivered and quickly climaxed so hard that her orgasm fed his and he came just at the sensation of her walls clenching around his cock. She cried his name in his mouth, he cried hers loudly gathering her ecstasy when his life liquid burst out into her. He barely could stand on his legs so much he trembled.

"John, I l.." He cut her off with a kiss.

"Me too.. Lisa." He slowly slid off of her and put her on the floor. He adjusted his clothes. She put on her robe.

"Now breakfast Lisa, I'm late, Finch is going to worry." He warmed and served the coffee, milk and the breakfast for each of them. They ate their breakfast then John put on his jacket, his gun in the back of his waistband, he kissed Lisa on her forehead and he stroked her hair, he said:

"I'm going to tell you one of my secrets. There is one thing that I don't know how to do. I don't know how to stop kissing you and making love to you." Embracing her tenderly.

"Oh, I hope you will never know." And she kissed him fisting the lapel of his jacket.

"Stay quiet here. I will call you later. Tonight baby.."

"John, be careful." She answered.

John went out of his loft. She closed and locked the door, leaning her back against it. She deep sighed, she was happy as she had never been. She was in love with him. He had gone for a few seconds and she already missed him. She decided to spend her time making things in the loft. She did the dishes, she changed the sheets of the bed, she put the clean washed clothes from the washer into the dryer, she put the sheets into the washer with washing liquid and turned it on. Then she cleaned up things that stayed on the table. Then she showered and dressed.

She searched for a place to organize her suitcases and some of her clothes in a closet.  
She opened the closets and looked at what was in them. They were well neat and military in order. A closet with his shirts on clothes hangers on one side and his pants suits on the other side. Stacks of tee-shirts, sweatshirts, under-shirts, boxers briefs, shorts, sport-wears, all well folded on shelves, nothing was hanging over the edges. Drawers full of socks, some ties, belts all well placed. She remarked a book on a shelf, 'Love Letters Of Great Men'. She remembered having forgotten her book on a bench.

"This is the book I lost in Central Park the day I met Jim. John was already there!"

He had told that he stalked her for a little while but she didn't think that it was almost since the beginning she arrived in New York. Once more time she was moved by the fact he sneaked into her life to protect her.

She put her suitcases on the floor in the closet then she looked at the next closet. It was locked, she wondered what it contained, perhaps a strong-box or something secret. Then she thought about her hotel room. With her computer she sent a mail message to the Mondrian Hotel to deal with her leave, to pay her bill and send back the key card of her room.

In the meanwhile, John arrived at the library with the Sencha Tea for Finch, a coffee for Shameen and a coffee for him.

"Morning Finch, how are you?" John said putting the tea on the table near the computer, a smile on his relaxed face.

"Good morning Mr. Reese. Thanks for the tea." Finch answered with a smile.

"Morning Shaw. Here your coffee." He said to Shaw.

"Look at me, I know you banged her all night, your head is still in her pussy." She snarled at John.

"Shaw." He warned her angrily. Shaw was interested in his sexual life, she always wanted to know who he was bedding and even she listened in his earpiece or phone when she could. No way to discourage her on this topic. She was skilled as a vigilante and co-worker but her morbid curiosity bothered him and Finch by the way.

"Yeah, he did it, Finch, look how angry he is." She liked to push his buttons.

"Ms. Shaw, stop it. John, come here we have to work on the case of Ms. Adrian." Finch said annoyed.

"He already worked on her tonight, I'm interested to take over from him." Shaw laughed at John, rolling her shoulders and tilting her head.

John opted for ignoring her but he deep breathed to keep his control and sat near Finch to work on Lisa's case.

"Yesterday, I hacked the accounts of the Miller's and found nothing illegal in them. Mr. Miller earns an honest salary for years, he owns a home in Manhattan. His wife is rich on her own. I looked at the accounts of the Riviere Company. This is a thriving enterprise with much movements of capital.  
The distribution channels showed the flow of the entering capital. The bulk-buying of furniture, the research and development service showed the flow of the exiting capital that seems normal as this sort of services has a special cost for each enterprise. I noticed on a window of time of one year that high transfers of capital entered on the current account and soon are invested in a foreign country. These transactions are mixed with the normal flow of the activity of the company and can't be tracked without a great attention. I wrote a little piece of code to help the tracking. To sum up it seems that this company looks like to be faced with money laundering."

"Is there a mean to know from where this money comes and where it goes out?" John demanded, caressing his chin.

"Mr. Reese, criminal organizations placed their fraudulent funds in an honest enterprise and those funds are integrated into various sectors as investments in a foreign country. They buy constructions, buildings, cars, yachts, enterprises, restaurants, pieces of art, anything is used to spend this money. After a while, these properties are sold and the clean money returns in some way to the villains. This is a well-oiled machine with internal and external key components. To answer your question we need first to know:  
\- How do we put the names on the who's earning the dirty money,

\- who's pulling and pushing this dirty money in and off the bank accounts company?

\- Are bankers involved in the funds handling?  
\- We don't know about Jeanne Riviere's role, we have to clear it. Did she give in to blackmail, was she unaware or was she a partner?  
\- Who had the ability to give the bank account number of the enterprise? The trafficking might become unstable with the new owner of the Company. No doubt that Ms. Adrian is an embarrassing token. They already tried to kill her or scare her. But sure if she discovers the scheme and fights against it they will erase her."

John's blood vanished from his body in one second at the thought he could lose her. He ran his hand through his hair and told to Finch:

"We must know all of the people hired in the enterprise, their background, if they have been taken to court, if they live beyond their means and we must know that as quick as possible, Finch. We must investigate on the staff of the bank which detained the accounts of the enterprise too."

Wheels were turning in the brain of John to activate a task force for her saving.

"To get the list of the staff is easy. We need Detectives Carter and Fusco to help on working on it about the court indictments. Two hundred of persons that is to say one hundred for each detective, during their duty work with extra hours and weekend, this can take weeks at the best." Finch calculated.

"No, it's too long. I will go into the offices, beginning with the accounts department's one and sneak in their drawers and computers, gathering files and databases. I need the plan of the building and to know how it is secured, control entrances and exits, the video surveillance cameras places, the security personal rounds, Finch." John spoke dryly.

"Need a backup, Reese, I wanna go with you." Shaw exclaimed. John turned to Shaw and nodded.

"As usual, I will gather pieces of information on the staff through my channels, home address, bank accounts, links between them inside and outside. This will take a while. About the bank, I can try to hack in the history of the account operation entries if their security system has a hole." Finch enumerated.

"Write a piece of code, Finch. There's always a security hole." John advised.

"The code doesn't do all, John." Finch sighed.

Suddenly John wished to call Lisa, his heart was racing in his chest and he needed to hear her voice, to know that she was safe in his home.

He stood up and went in a room in the library and dialed Lisa on her burner phone. After two rings he got the voicemail. He called her on her phone, he also got the voicemail. He began to worry.

'Shit, where is she?' He muttered returning toward Finch.

"Harold, can you track her phones for me? She doesn't answer my calls." He demanded Finch with a concerned look.

"Of course." Finch typed on his computer keyboard.

"I can't locate the burner phone but her personal phone is near your home John, she's in the Asia Market Corp. grocery 71 1/2 Mulberry Street." Finch looked at John with a confused air.

"I warned her to stay quiet. Shit, she's reckless about the danger. I have to go. I will come back soon." John motioned to exit the library.

"She's not a child, she had been a soldier, she made a tour in Afghanistan." Finch said loudly, trying to comfort John.

"Yeah, but in Afghanistan, a guy had her back. At this moment she's alone, unarmed, she has no one to have her back." John hurried downstairs the library.

When he reached the Asia Market store, he saw Lisa coming out with packs of grocery. She wore a hooded jogging and sunglasses. He hailed her and he showed her to climb in the SUV. Her eyes wide open she smiled at him and she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Lisa, what are you doing outside? I told you to stay at my home." He was relieved but he was mad at her and he intended to tell her.

"Oh John, I missed you so much." She said on the way to snake her arm behind his neck.

"No Lisa, you are aware that people are after you to kill you and you mocked the rules I told you. You didn't answer either to the burner phone nor your phone when I called you earlier, why? You went out my home, why? You don't know the high danger you are." The lips of John thinned while he lectured her with a dry voice.

"When I took the burner phone to answer the battery shut down and you said me to not use my own phone." she admitted with a soft voice.

They arrived in the parking and parked the car. He took the bags of grocery and her forearm and they forwarded to his door. They entered his loft and he locked the door. He put the bags on the counter in the kitchen.  
He took Lisa's hand and he motioned her to sit down on the couch. He sat down beside her. He sighed deeply and he softened his voice and he told her what Finch discovered about her enterprise, what danger it represented to her and he asked her to help with a straight attitude with him.

She locked her eyes with his and she said to him from the bottom of her heart :

"John, I don't want to die, not now, not here, I want to live for you, for us, John I love you, I love you so much." That she was. She said it to him, now he knew that she loved him, if she died she will have told him, he will know that he was loved.

He swallowed hard when he heard her admission. His heart pounded in his chest. He wanted to say her that he loved her too but the words were stuck in the back of his throat. He tried to say it but his mouth didn't make a sound even though he was happy but also he was worried about her.

"You will not die as long you are here with me, if you do as I say to you, I'm here, I will protect you whatever the cost, I already told you, I promised you." He took her in his arms and he kissed her deeply and passionately, pouring in his kiss all the feelings he had for her. It was his way to say that he loved her and he wished that she felt it.

She embraced him and kissed him back with fervor.

"I have to go Lisa. I don't know when I return. I have things to do. Promise me you stay quiet here."

"I promise." She nodded.

John stood up and he went to his arsenal closet. He took a ski mask, a bulletproof vest, a dagger, ammunition, in plus of his SIG-Sauer P226R, two more automatic weapons, an HK MP7 and a Glock 19 and he put them away in a sports bag. Watching all his weapons in the closet, she was stunned that there was enough to arm an entire battalion, he had even a grenade launcher, automatic rifles and some war firearms.

"John, are you going alone in this puzzle? " She asked worrying to see him armed and ready.

"Shaw is coming with me, she's good with guns. A small woman and a great fighter." He nodded, minding what he said.

He kissed her forehead and he strode outside to return to the library.

At the library, Finch had sorted the list of the persons of the Riviere enterprise and decided to query the support of the detectives Carter and Fusco that were not happy to be overloaded with this heavy work he gave them. Dealing with the court indictments about citizens in their office will be a sort of sport because of their daily paperwork, their cases, their colleagues and their Captain roaming in the precinct. But they both liked working with the Team Machine, they owned this to them with all the bad guys they gathered as gifts from John and Shaw and the cases they helped to solve that rewarded them.

With his computer, Finch displayed the building outside and inside with a dedicated application. Each floor, each elevator, each hallway, each room, each door, each office, each material in it, each camera, each light, each security people rounds... John was in awe of how Finch was a skilled informatic genius and how he acquired what he searched with a computer and a keyboard. Firewalls, networks, remote computers, passwords, databases, nothing or almost nothing resisted to him. He was also skilled in electric panels, microelectronic devices like phones, alarms, radars and others sorts of transmission. He was a beast of knowledge in the technology of information and network communications, he swam in that like a fish in the ocean and he liked it. One thing Finch disliked was the firearms.

They decided to have lunch outside in a small Italian restaurant. John offered the meals to Finch and Shaw. Then they returned to the library to build the plan for the night expedition in the Riviere enterprise.  
John and Shaw opted to enter the building by the rooftop using the near building.  
At 08:00 pm the security guards began their rounds in the stages. John memorized all the movements, steps, open doors, glances they did with the cameras inside. Finch will have to mislead the camera in a loop when John and Shaw will trail in its focus.

At 10:00 pm they wore their bulletproof vest and they prepared their firearms and ammunition. Then they drove toward the Riviere building. They parked two blocks further and they put their ski mask. They invaded the building nearby. No security, just an entry code whom Finch had cracked a few hours ago. They lifted up to the rooftop with the elevator. In the night, they wormed their way in the rooftop of the Riviere building. They opened easily the door to go downstairs. The accounts department was located on the last floor they reached immediately. Finch was redirecting cameras in a loop before John and Shaw stood in the camera's range. He warned about a guard around them and he guided them to step forward or backward in hiding. Once in the appropriate office, they worked on all the computers searching and saving documents and databases on USB keys with high capacity storage. They stopped several times, placing themselves out of view when a flash-light scanned into the office. They sneaked in the drawers to extract the folders and they skimmed over the sheets, shooting photos with their phones and sending them to Finch.  
They spent three hours on the entire floor before to head to Miller's office on the floor below. A large office, like a flat with leather couches and armchairs. John entered Miller's office and Shaw his secretary's. They applied the process Finch taught them, they split and they referred to him. One hour later they came back to the rooftop and they made their reverse way to the near building toward the exit door.  
One the side-walk John noticed a black van, like the one that had rounded the Olympus Park. He warned Shaw to stop and to hide in the dark. He dialed Finch:

"Finch, we have a problem, a black van like the one that followed Lisa when shots were aimed at her is in front of the building."

"I see it, nobody inside. Be careful, John." Finch warned.

John was on alert the HK MP7 in hand he turned 360 degrees just as quickly to spray with bullets in the knees three men in one burst. Shawn's back to his back shot in the head two guys without regret. She shrugged, she couldn't help herself, looking at John who single-handedly was responsible for the boom in orthopedic surgeries, she just limited the damage.  
They retreated in the dark and they waited for some latecomers. Wounded men were yelling in pain. John approached one of them and he questioned him with a menacing voice:

"Who is your boss, who hired you?"

The guy spit on John.

"I will not ask more than once. I'm not gonna threaten to kill you... I'm gonna kill you. Who's your boss, who hired you?" John hissed and he put his gun to the temple of the guy.

"I don't have a boss. I work alone. Someone gave me a contract. I don't know who. "

"What was the contract?"

"To abduct the Frenchie."

"Why?"

"Someone probably has something in store for her." The guy said with a mischievous smirk. John knocked him out with the butt of his gun. He gathered all the firearms and the phones.

"John, Ms. Shaw are you alright?" Finch demanded anxiously.

"Yeah. Men had a contract to abduct Lisa. They do not volunteer. If they are here someone paid them. We must find who are the men behind the scene. We go back." John tapped his earpiece to disconnect the call.

Police sirens were whining in the night, they hurried to their car and they pulled away toward the library. Finch was relieved to see them and he gathered the phones and the USB keys to analyzing them, the night will be longer for him.  
Shaw and John returned each one to their home.

When John came back from his expedition to Riviere enterprise building it was 03:30 am. He entered his loft closing softly the door and locking it. He put the sports bag containing his weapons in his arsenal closet. He took off his jacket, his shirt and the bulletproof vest and he put them on the back of the couch, his gun on the table, he undressed completely then he went in the bathroom and he showered as silently as he could. Then he switched off the lights and he laid down on his bed under the comforter. Lisa was sprawled on her stomach and she patted her hand on his chest.

"John, I was worried about you." She murmured.

"I'm here, my sweetheart." He kissed her forehead, her nose, the corner of her mouth, her shoulder and sliding on his side he wrapped her tightly in his arms.

Her warm body awoke his desire and his hands began to run everywhere on her. She shifted on her side against him, she circled her arms around his neck and she bent her head back to give him better access to her neck and her breasts. He delicately removed her night clothes. He trailed kisses along her face, her neck, he sucked her nipples. He lifted her left leg up on his right thigh, he cupped her sex in his hand and he massaged her folds lightly. He entered one finger in her heat and stroked her lovingly, licking her lips and plunging his tongue into her mouth. She took his penis in her hand and stroked him in cadence with what he was doing to her. They moaned at each move and they sighed with their mouths open and their tongues dancing. John ceased to stroke her and he guided his throbbing penis at her entrance, he twisted the head around it and he rubbed her clit with it. She cried his name and writhed against him.

"Don't move Lisa, stay still, let me do it all, let me love you as I want it. You gotta see what the others are not." He whispered in her ear.

He entered only his penis's head into her and he withdrew over and over, massaging her clit with his tip, he was making her crazy in need. She moaned and she sighed heavily while she caressed his hair and his face, unable to clearly think as her neurons were shutting down. Five minutes later she was near the edge and she tried to contain the tsunami he was provoking. He entered his pulsating penis into her very slowly and fully till the hilt and he stayed still. He watched her orgasm raised and shivers ran all over her body. Without doing a thrust into her, her walls clenched around his cock, her tremors massaged it and she screamed his name.

"Yes, come like this my love, come, my sweet love, come for me." He kissed her ecstatic smile with emotion. Tears shed from her eyes while she snaked her arms around his neck and she waited for her breath to calm.

When she landed on earth, she breathed out of energy:

"John, what are you doing to me? "

"Something I love to do to a lady that loves me. I made love to you with all my soul and all my heart. Do you feel it, Lisa?" He whispered languorously. He was saying that he loved her with his own words, hoping that she understood him.

He slowly slid off of her and he rolled on his back with her on him and she straddled him. He lifted her hips up and he entered her with one thrust. She put her hands on his chest and she moved on him upward and downward while he met her thrusts one by one.  
He let her love him, caressing her sides, her thighs, her breasts, her belly, her ass, he never had enough of her. She was now his everything. She nibbled and she kissed his breasts then she kissed him eagerly, he moaned loudly into her mouth, pressing the flesh of her hips. She sped her rhythm on his cock and before he realized it he felt a heat spreading down his belly and he couldn't hold his orgasm back.

"Lisa, oh my God. Aaaaah, Lisa, I l.." He breathed and he emptied his warm liquid into her, shouting her name. She bent onto him to gather in her mouth his ecstasy. A few seconds later she climaxed hard, her body crashing down into thousand pieces.

She laid on him, both coming slowly from their heights. She looked at his glowing face with love and pride. He was hers and he loved her.

'Oh my god, he is happy, he smiles like an angel, he looks at me through his half-closed eyes, he is pure beauty outside and inside. I love him more than my life.' She thought this so strong that she didn't mind she murmured the words with her lowest voice.

"If you go on saying lovely words to me, little John will love you one more time." He challenged.

"You never give up, John. You hop on all what I say. We are going to rest John. It's late." She softly laughed.

They curled up each other, they embraced and they sank into a deep sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are welcome and appreciated. If you have some ideas to add, let me know.


	10. Chapter 10 Brainstorming

The Team machine has a hard work in their current case.

Warning: mature love scene at the end of this chapter. If you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 10

When John got off the bed at 07:00 am Lisa was deeply sleeping. He showered, dressed and made breakfast that he ate hastily. He made the dishes then he wore his jacket and put his gun in the back of his waistband. He forwarded to his bed and sat on the edge of it. Lisa was sprawled on her back, one arm above her head, the other on her stomach. He bent his head over hers and he brushed his lips on hers.

"Huumm." She whispered, her eyes always closed in a deep sleep.

"I love you, my sweet lady." John murmured with a loving look. How it was good to confess these words to her, he might try to say them when she wouldn't sleep.

He got up and he came out his loft, closing and locking softly the door. On the way, he called the hospital to get news of the little boy Peter Evans. They answered that he was in the awakening phase and they hoped all would be good for him. He had to recall tomorrow for confirmation.

At the coffee shop, he took the usual Sencha green tea for Harold and two black coffees for Shaw and him. When he arrived at the library Harold was asleep in an armchair, his face reflected exhaustion and his body seemed to be shortened cause of the tiredness. He certainly worked a great part of the night on the pieces that they gathered at the Riviere building. Soon Shaw arrived too with heavy eyelids as night was short. John nodded handing her the coffee.

"Hi, good bang this morning Reese?" She already started to tease.

"How about you? Have someone?" John retorted with a smirk.

"Guys have too more emotions. I m a pragmatist, Reese. I go out, have a fun night or three, and then, uh, I move on. No muss, no fuss." Shaw answered with a neutral voice.

"To each one his own." John sighed.

"Reese, you in love with her?" Shaw liked to fulfill her curiosity and there she wanted to know.

John glanced icily at her to finish the conversation.

Finch woke up sounding the words exchange between the co-workers though they spoke softly.

"Good morning you two. You are already there. Good, we have a lot to discuss this morning unless a new number arrives. Thank you for the tea." Finch said with a yawn.

"What did you discover on the USB keys, the photos we sent and the phones?" John questioned hastily.

"Mr. Reese, this is a very complicated case and I am feared that it will not end quickly. The documents speak for themselves. Capital movements and investments in foreign countries are clearly highlighted. The Chief Accounting Officer is a Russian. He is in charge of all the purchases and investments to launder money. All the money has been deposited anonymously in cash at the bank on the account of Riviere enterprise."

"The Russian Mob is implicated." John sighed in a worried tone.

"I think it is. It's the head of drug trafficking in New York. But the worse is that it is face to face with a new mobster who is power-hungry."

"Elias." John shouted in anger.

"Yes. We are between a crossfire or rather Ms. Adrian is in a crossfire: two powerful murderer masses that aim the same target: money and power whatever the cost. I'm asking myself if it would be Elias's mind that wanted subdue Ms. Adrian. The operative mode that consists to hire second hands not belonging to his own group looks like his character. Elias might have thought to replace the Russians with his own trafficking, convincing Mrs. Adrian to afford his protection and to interfere himself in her enterprise preventing the Russians to launder their money. It's just a hypothesis." Finch thoughtfully claimed.

"To be sure the best is to meet and ask him." John said standing up, pacing like a caged lion.

"Mr. Reese, wait. This is a very serious case, we can't rush headlong without a plan. We are facing a power's war and you know what it implies: collateral damages are unavoidable."

"Time to end this war, Finch, I saved his life when he was in hiding as Charlie Burton. He owes me one. I believe he is a man of his word." John cut short.

"Easy to say, not to play. Ms. Adrian doesn't weight heavy beside millions of dollars. Elias's word isn't reliable if his purpose to sit his power is endangered. Concerning the Russians, they are planted in the Riviere enterprise and certainly in the bank. Let's play it as a chess. First, we must know who deposits the money in the bank. I am going to trace the deposits while you too survey the clients of the bank. We will be able to match the right person involved in and block her."

"Have you the possibility to hack the inside camera records in the bank?" Shaw demanded.

"Good question Ms. Shaw. The records of the cameras in the bank are physically stored on a local secure internal network server. To access them we must be in the place. We must be sure that the deposits matched the man or the men each time. That's the second part." Finch explained, managing a plan to enter the bank and do it.

"After in third, we get rid of the Chief Accounting Officer without awaking suspicion. His name is Olaf Kimsky and this is his address."

"The Russians may have jokers in the game." John intervened.

"Perhaps, but I think that they will try to find who is willing to stop their trafficking. Replacing a person is temporary and it doesn't solve the crux of the matter." Finch evaluated.

"They may think that Elias steps on their toes and they will initiate a punitive raid. That can be the source of great troubles in the city." John was rubbing his chin.

"Sure, Elias or another mobster, but Elias never hid his ambition to take over the organized crime business in New York and to remove the growing Russian mob influence. So he is at the top of the Russian's list."

"What do we do with the man at the bank and the Chief Accounting Officer after their capture?" Shaw demanded, caressing her gun.

Finch and John looked up at her with concern. This was a true question to whom Shaw already found a drastic solution.

"I am going to see it." John said, nodding at Finch with an implied smirk. Finch exhaled a heavy sigh of relieve.

"To trap the man who deposits the cash at the bank may take perhaps several days or one day if we are lucky. The bank is the Bank of America 224 West Village in Manhattan between the 4th Street and 7th Avenue. Stay connected with me all the time as I survey the bank account operations. I hope we will catch him quickly."

John and Shaw stood up and motioned toward the library exit. Shaw showed her open palm to John.

"I'm driving." She commanded. John smiled and gave her the ignition key of the car, he took the camera to take photos outside the bank.

In the inside parking, Shaw slid on the seat driver and she started the car, John sat on the passenger seat and they tied their security belts around them. They pulled away into the traffic toward the Bank of America.

"Reese, how does your girl spend her time at your home all the day?" Shaw snarled.

"She isn't my girl." John breathed out.

"My ass! Just look at your eyelids swollen as suitcases every morning, no need to lie to me. I saw her once wearing one of your tee-shirt and what I can tell there is absolutely nothing to throw away. Is she a great lay, at least?" Shaw insisted in bantering him.

"Shaw, stop it." John shouted, very angry at Shaw because of her disrespect towards Lisa. Even if he knew that she was bantering him, today she succeeded to rock him.

"Hooah, Reese is in love!" She enjoyed playing the little pest this morning.

"Shaw, focus on the job." John warned her.

Finch heard all the words exchanged between the two and he worried about this fruitless battle in a middle of a mission that might go dangerously if the concentration was the less of their concern.

"Please, Mr. Reese, Ms. Shaw, I would like you to postpone your personal wedge issues outside of office hours." Finch said dryly.

"It's just chattering between friends." John said, glancing at a smiling Shaw with a deadly look.

They drove silently towards the Bank of America. When they arrived, they parked the car in the street in front of the entrance and they started watching people that entered and exited the entrance door.

"That's it, Finch. We parked in front of the bank." John said to Finch.

John took photos with the camera of all people passing the entrance. They were staying in the car for three hours when Finch spoke with excitation in their earpieces:

"I trapped a deposit on the bank account of Riviere enterprise just now. The client is going to exit the bank if we are lucky he does."

Five minutes later.

"Finch, a man with a suitcase, typically Caucasian type exits the bank, he entered fifteen minutes earlier."

"You follow him, but don't harm him. Just see where he goes, who he encounters. Send me all the photos." Finch ordered to John and Shaw.

They waited for the man to enter his car. John noticed the license plate and he sent it to Finch. They followed the car at a reasonable distance to not be spotted. They tailed him till Brighton Beach, the center of the Russian mafia in New York. The man parked his car in front of the Bratva Bar at 1205 Surf Avenue on Coney Island in Brooklyn.

John turned towards Shaw.

"Wait in the car. I gonna to get some fresh air." He said in a wicked tone.

"It's always the same who has fun!" Shaw pouted.

"Look around here. I call you if I need." He muttered, rolling his eyes.

"Finch, the man entered in the Bratva bar at Coney Island. I gonna to taste the pulse and to clone his phone."

"Don't get in trouble, Mr. Reese." Finch always was feared that John put himself in a problem and got hurt.

"Don't worry Finch, I'm just a little thirsty." John chuckled.

John entered the bar and he sat on a barstool. He ordered a beer. The man was sitting near the private door and dialing. John cloned his phone while he took a sip of his beer.  
A man appeared at the private door that John immediately recognized: Peter Yogorov, the elder son of Ivan Yogorov the boss of the Russian Mafia. He invited the man to enter the room and he closed the door.

"Finch, Peter Yogorov is with the man who deposited the money at the bank."

"Reese, you are spotted. Two men." Shaw murmured, starting the ignition of the car.

John slid down the barstool and he stood ready for the potential battle. The two men entered the bar and they forwarded straight towards him. John welcomed them with his fists in their faces and his elbows in their chests. Fighting like a samurai with martial arts skills he easily screwed up his two opponents and he sent them on the sidewalk one by one, crossing the windows. Then he left a twenty on the counter and he exited outside dusting his sleeves. He climbed into the car and they pulled away making the tires squealing.

"Thank Shaw. Good job you did."

"Mr. Reese, Ms. Shaw are you alright?" Finch stuttered in their earpieces.

"I Just finished my workout of the day, Finch. Nevertheless, I cloned the phone from the man. Listen."

'What was this noise?' 'No matter. The door is armored. You deposited one million dollars today. Good. Tomorrow you will do another deposit of one million. Then we will be even for a while. For your service.'  
'Thank, Peter. See you tomorrow.'  
'No need, take some holidays. Skoro ouvidimssia.' (See you soon.)  
'Skoro ouvidimssia.'

"Two millions of dollars in two days. Business goes like gangbusters." John murmured.

"Yeah, this makes me want to change of job." Shaw sighed.

"Ms. Shaw, the purpose isn't the same as yours. You save lives. Traffickers are killers." Finch pleaded.

"It's exactly the reason why I said that." Shaw answered smiling at herself.

"What are we doing now Finch? Sneaking in the cameras records of the bank?" Shaw demanded, expecting for some action in the evening.

"Yeah, but take some break to eat something at Jacob's Pickles 509 Amsterdam Avenue, between 84th Street and 85th Street Upper West Side. I'm waiting for you." Finch proposed to them.

They met at Jacob's Pickles at 06:00 pm. They are starved.

Shaw ordered a giant steak with fried potatoes and a beer, John pork ribs with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy with a beer and Finch a roasted half chicken with fried potatoes and a beer too.

John excused and he went outside the restaurant. He called Lisa with a heavy heart.

"Hi Lisa, how are you?" He murmured softly.

"John, I'm fine, and you?" She answered with a strangled voice.

"What is this voice, how do you feel, what's happened to you?" John struggled to word.

"I worried about you and I missed you. I worked all the day on the documents that Mr. Miller sent me on the enterprise. John, I'm losing my head to stay indoors too long." She shouted.

"Lisa, keep calm. Today we found things that will lead us near the term of this threat soon. Please be patient. We have work to do this evening, I don't know when I return but don't lose hope. This will end soon and you will be free to live your life in the open air." He whispered, feeling bad that she felt desperate for freedom.

"I love you, John." She simply answered.

"I know." He breathed and he ended the call.

When he came back to their dinner table, Finch already noticed that something was wrong with John. He looked like emptied of energy and worried as hell. Finch said nothing, understanding that John wouldn't confess anything to his friends, as usual, he would keep his secrets to himself. They ate their dinner with appetite and spoke about how to visualize the camera records of the bank. Finch thought to enter the bank and connect his mobile computer to the bank network, to find the server and to sneak where the records were stored. With the list of the dates and times of deposits on the bank account of the Riviere enterprise, he might be able to match the segment of time on the records when the man was in the bank to do them. For that, he must target the right server and hack the login and password. Then he could go through the records and watch the images to identify the man or the men. Finch suggested planning the action first at the library.

After the dinner, they returned to the library and they worked on how to locate the camera record's server.  
They all sat around the table listening to Finch plan.

"I am pretty sure that the servers that detain the camera records are on a secure local area network, not connected to the others servers for the safety of individual rights. Nevertheless, they might be connected to the master archive server once in a day to realize the saving of the data. As a last resort, I would know the names and IP addresses of these servers through the master archive server."

"You need to be in the place. But how would you stay there without arousing the interest of the staff of the bank?" John demanded.

"I think that we could be locked in the bank after office hours."

While speaking, with his computer Finch displayed the inside of the bank with his dedicated application. He located all the floors, all the offices and he noticed the underground computer room and a room on floor 1 without furniture only high hard-wares and air conditioning closets.

"They are there on floor 1 in the room in the bottom of the hallway." He murmured with a content smile.

"Mr. Reese you will replace one of the security guards and you will borrow his badge. You will inspect around and Ms. Shaw, you will be a cleaning agent."

"Why not the reverse?" Shaw said angrily.

"Because the security agents are all tall and beefy like Mr. Reese. Ms. Shaw, I need you to back up Mr. Reese and me as he can be led to round through the stages as a normal security guard does. No need to clean all the evening." Finch cut her off.

"Once in the place, we enter the room where the local area network stands. I connect my computer to this network in hiding IP address and I connect to the servers to find the matching records."

"How many time do you need Finch? If I have to get to sleep the guy to take his turn." John asked.

"Entering the room with the guard's badge and hacking the servers, two hours perhaps three. If the guard's badge doesn't work, a little longer because I must debug the entry code." Finch answered with trembling lips at what John was intending to inflict on the guard.

"How about exiting the bank?" Shaw argued with concern.

"We always got to get away." John retorted.

"We must enter the bank tomorrow at 05:00 pm. I manage an appointment with a banker. Time to split now. Goodnight you all." Said Finch.

* * *

John came back home at 00:30 am. He closed and locked the door softly. The TV sound was alive and Lisa was sleeping on the couch, on her stomach, one of her leg crossed on the other, the remote in her hand on the pillow.

He put his gun on the table and he went to the bathroom to undress and shower. Warm water raining on his body relaxed him from the tension of the day. After several minutes he dried himself with a large towel and he wrapped it around his waist then he strode to the fridge to take a fresh beer that he half drank contemplating Lisa's body semi-nude in her shorty pajamas. They all worked hard today to circle the threat around her, and more they worked, more they discovered it was dangerous for her. And she didn't support anymore to be boxed within four blank walls. He might find a solution to stabilize her, to prevent her to do something stupid that would ruin her security and their plans. She had promised to be quiet but he understood her as she was there for six days getting nervous. She had always lived outside, she had always been surrounded by people, in her studies, in the army, in her work, she was joyous and ebullient, never tired, she liked the life and freedom and there she started to light off like a candle in the wind. He kneeled in front of the couch in the intend to roll her on her back and to lead her to their bed. She mumbled and half opened her eyes.

"Lisa, it's me, John."

"John, John, I was waiting for you and I fell asleep like a fly." She murmured circling his neck with her arms.

She pulled him onto her chest and she kissed him softly. He climbed on top of her and he sank his tongue into her open mouth, rolling it around hers with moaning sounds of pleasure as he was eating a delicious vanilla ice cream. His tongue followed the seams of her internal lips and it caressed her teeth before he deepened the kiss into a passionate duel with her tongue. She moaned into his mouth and she rubbed herself against his body, feeling his hard erection pressed on her center.

"Lisa, I love you more than my life." John exhaled with a serious look.

"I need to be inside you right now, my love." He commanded, slowly removing her pajama and then his towel.

She smiled, her mouth was drinking his sweet words as this was the first time he admitted them to her. She cupped his cheeks in her hands and she kissed him with passion and devotion, he kissed her back as his life depended on it, sighing loudly. His hands cupped her lovely breasts, he licked and sucked each one of them, he nibbled her nipples that sent twinges in her core then he sucked them softly. His hand roamed up and down her side, reaching her entrance. He plunged two fingers softly into her heat and he stroked her that made her hips jump. Her breath raced and she grasped his shoulders, lifting her upper body up against his chest. He stopped stroking her and he guided his penis to her entrance to dive into it.  
He entered in her tight heat in one slow thrust till he filled her completely. He trembled above her so much he was overwhelmed by the sensation of fulfillment when he penetrated her. He swallowed hard and he began to move back then forward slowly, sliding out of her almost completely then sliding into her to the hilt again and again. She had locked her legs around his hips and she met his thrusts one by one, moaning softly each time he moved into her. Her hands were caressing his body everywhere and she kissed him on his neck, on his chin, on his shoulders, on his arms, even in the internal hollow of his elbows. His heart pounded in his chest when she locked her eyes with his and she took his mouth in hers in a burning kiss.

"Lisa, I love you so much. I'm sorry, forgive me to no say it earlier." He murmured in her mouth.

"You don't have to apologize, John." She answered with a heavy sigh.

He continued to thrust into her deeper and longer at the same slow rhythm, she let him rock her with softness and link his body with hers in a loving movement which would lead them soon to the final ecstasy. She felt a heat growing in her belly, her heart raced and her breath sounded.  
John caressed her forehead and her hair and he crashed his lips onto hers in a devastating kiss while he sped a little his thrusts that were always long and deep, she was coming and he was going to make her scream his name as ever. He thrust harder and deeper more times then he drastically slowed down till to stop and to wait for her she begged him to move.

"Joohn, why.." She stuttered.

He thrust again slowly, increasing the pace and the strength at each stroke till he felt she shivered and trembled in his arms. He held her tightly against him and he unleashed his energy in the final hot strokes till she climaxed and shouted his name like a wild animal.

"JOOOHNNN."

Her clenching walls swallowed his cock and fed his orgasm that he was holding back, his precious seed rained into her while he shouted her name in her mouth.

"Lisa, sweetheart."

John slid on his side, rolling Lisa with him. Their limp bodies stayed unmoving few minutes while they came back slowly from their heights.

"I'm dead, you killed me." He whispered in her ear.

"You work too hard, John, and I'm a bad girl, always complaining about my fate." She admitted stroking his short hair.

"We shower and go to bed." John said smiling.

"You first, okay."

"No, we both." He insisted lovingly with his cheeky blue-grey eyes.

They forwarded to the bathroom and they began to shower. They washed each other and John wrapped her in his strong arms. She climbed on his feet on her tiptoes and she rolled her arms around his neck.

"Say it again that you love me." She demanded him with begging eyes.

"I am going to say and do it. I love you." He whispered, kissing her and lifting her thighs up, pinning her back to the cold tiles. She locked her ankles behind his waist. He plunged his tongue into her mouth and devoured hers, sucking it softly. He entered into her with a strong stroke while he trailed kisses from her mouth down her neck and her shoulders. He moved into her with energy and strength as she was helpless, without support to lean on but the wall and him. He thrust into her with a speed rhythm, she was already losing her control, fighting her pleasure, he didn't know why she didn't let herself go, even if she came too soon.

"Lisa, let yourself go, don't be ashamed to come too soon, because you feel it's too good, let's go, honey." He murmured slamming into her heat crazily.

She let herself go and soon she climaxed hard, seeing stars, crying his name. She appealed his release when she cried his name, he stiffened and sent his semen into her core, murmuring her name in her mouth.

He wrapped her tightly in his arms, holding her close to him, rocking her body against his, so tender and soft she was with him, he had never had this in all his life. He felt so good with this woman that he wanted to keep her always next to him all his life. He slowly slipped off of her. He laid her on her feet and they rinsed and dried. He picked her up in his arms and strode to the bed where they laid down in. They cuddled under the comforter and sank into a deep comfortable sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated and help to build the story.


	11. Chapter 11 Long Work Day

A long work day for the Team Machine.

Warning: mature love scene at the end of this chapter. If you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 11

John woke up at 06:00 am with the ring of his phone.

"Hey, Finch, good morning, what's up?" John asked sleepily.

"We have a number this norming. I'm sorry to wake you, we are going to face a tough day. Take your time for breakfast, John."

"Okay, Finch, I will be at the library in an hour." They disconnected.

John got off the bed and he forwarded to the bathroom. He shaved his beard of two days and he showered. Then he dried himself and he dressed in a grey shirt and a pantsuit. In the kitchen, he prepared the coffee and the breakfast. When breakfast was ready he strode to his bed to wake up Lisa. She was getting off the bed and she jumped on his hips, circling her hands around his neck:

"Morning, my love." She whispered in his ear.

"Morning, my lovely lady, breakfast is served." John answered kissing her forehead and striding to the kitchen with the precious thing he loved in his arms.

He sat her on a stool at the counter and he sat across her. She looked at a dessert plate covered with a dome-shaped lid in front of her milky coffee. She slowly removed the lid and she gazed at a heart-shaped pancake with a chocolate vertical, narrow-lettered writing on it: 'I' 'love' 'you'.

"Oh, it's so... you are too.." She said breathless and moved to the bottom of her hearth. She reached his hand, took it in hers and she kissed his fingers.

"I love you too, John." She stood up, she turned around the counter and sat on John's lap. She kissed him on his mouth tenderly.

"Your heart is so beautiful that I don't know if I gonna dare to taste it." She confessed with a little voice.

"You have already done this with mine." John murmured kissing her shoulder, taking the pancake and feeding her. She tasted the pancake and she shared it with him.

They ate their breakfast in a good mood, showing their love for each other.

"I have to go, baby, I have a lot to work today." John said standing up and putting her on her feet. He wore his jacket and he put his gun in the back of his waistband. He gave her a long, deep and passionate kiss, holding her tightly against him, stroking her hair in her neck.

"I love you so much, tonight I gonna eat you alive." He breathed hotly in her mouth. She locked her eyes with his and she replied softly:

"Me too."

He felt his penis jerk in his pants just hearing the two words she said. He broke the kiss and he strode towards the door to leave.

"Tonight, love." He said, closing the door with a heavy sigh.

On his way, he called the hospital to get news about the little boy. He was told that Peter was out of danger and recovering. John was relieved that the boy would return to a normal life.  
When he arrived at the library, Shaw handed him his coffee.

"Morning Shaw, thanks, morning Finch." John said.

Finch turned and welcomed him.

"The number we received this morning is named Jacky Parson. Married for ten years with a bus driver that lost his job recently after he caused an accident being drunk. It seems that she is harassed by her husband since the day of that accident. She called the cops many times but they didn't move one finger. That is her address." Finch handed a post-it to John. John exited the library to head toward the Parson's home. When he reached the Parson's address, he parked the car in the street. He moved to the door of the couple. He knocked on the door that opened on a disheveled man smelling alcohol and holding a gun in his hand. John pushed the door, he grasped the colt from the man's hand and he twisted his arm around his back to fix him. The man swore and cried in pain. He sat him on a chair and he tied his hands behind him and his feet to the chair. He searched for the woman in the flat. She had locked herself in the bathroom and she was sobbing. He asked her to open the door, telling her that her husband couldn't harm her anymore. Jacky unlocked the door and she came out, all shaking with a bruising face. He helped her to sit on a chair and he gave her a glass of water.  
Then he dialed Detective Carter with the Parson's phone and he handed the phone to the woman.

"Please, call the cops." He murmured to her softly.

"Detective Carter." Joss spoke on the phone.

"I'm Mrs. Parson, my husband tried to kill me." She stuttered on the phone. She gave her address to the Detective.

"We arrive." Joss answered.

John left the Parson's home to return to the library.  
Ten minutes later, Detectives Carter and Fusco were in Parson's home, they noted that the man was tied to a chair, his gun on the table, and the wounded woman was crying silently near the door.

"What's the matter?" Joss demanded to Jacky.

"My husband threatened me with a gun. Hopefully, a man came from nowhere in my home to catch my husband and to disarm him otherwise he would have killed me." She mumbled under the fear of the past moments.

"Let me guess, a tall man in a black suit?" Joss smirked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes, and a soft voice." Jacky said, shaking her head.

* * *

At the library, John reported to Finch on the closed case. Shaw was cleaning her gun and she turned to him.

"Yeah, sometimes I feel like I am a social worker too." She said to John, sighing.

"Exactly what we are Shaw, with more practical experience." John chuckled.

"Okay, let's put the finishing touches to our coming into the bank. To enter the bank you will be dressed with elegance because you will assist me in my appointment with the banker. Take with you a briefcase that will be used to carry on your change of clothes and your tools for the evening's operation. Ms. Shaw, remember that you are going to play a cleaner agent, Mr. Reese, you are going to undress and dress again in a security guard's uniform."

They went outside for lunch then they quietly waited for the time to go to the library.  
At 05:00 pm, they entered in the Bank of America. Finch sent a frequency jamming to perturb the cameras around them during the time and space where they were framed by them. All three were dressed with elegance for the first part that consisted to enter the bank as clients. Finch had an appointment with a banker to discuss how to invest a part of his money into physical gold bars and to loan a vault in the bank to protect them. Once in the office of the banker, he introduced John as his representative for all the bank transactions and Ms. Shaw as his secretary.

The banker's office stayed on the second floor, the floor up to the little computer room Finch had detected. The meeting lasted more than one hour with more technical details about the investment, the contract, the vault, the security of the client property. Finch asked to see how the vault room was secured. The meeting was near ending, the banker called a security guard to accompany them in front of the vault room on the floor one. When the security guard arrived, the banker led them in front of the armored door and he praised the security of the area saying finally that only authorized clients were allowed to penetrate in. Office hours were terminated and staff members were evacuating the building to go home. Finch and the banker discussed a bit longer till the elevators stayed quiet and the hallways desert. Then the banker welcomed them for a future definitive meeting to elaborate the contract, he shook their hands and turned back in his office on floor two. The security guard led them into the elevator to go down to floor 0 toward the entrance door.

In the elevator, Shaw pushed the 'stop' button while John injected an anesthetic product in the neck of the security guard that slid down on the floor, John softening his fall. Finch rolled his eyes in disapproval but he knew that the guard was only asleep for a few lapses of time. Then Shaw pressed the 1 button. When the elevator stopped on floor 1, Shaw found an empty office where they all entered, John hauling the guard on his shoulder. He undressed him and himself and he wore the guard's uniform. He burrowed his badge, his phone, and his earpiece. Then he tied the ankles and the wrists of the guard, he put a scratch on his mouth and he packed his clothes in his briefcase that Shaw took in charge. Soon, John heard his 'colleague' asking where he was and what he was doing.

"I'm with clients who are leaving the bank. What do you want?" John asked.

"It's my pause. Come on and replace me when I go to the break room to eat and pie." He commanded.

"Okay."

"Shit. Shaw, have you a second syringe and product?" John demanded with concern.

"Of course, even a third and a fourth, always be careful with these kinds of stuff, in case it doesn't work first try." Shaw answered.

Finch opened wide his eyes when Shaw gave John a syringe to get the second guard to sleep. John shrugged and smirked looking at Finch completely frozen by their casual attitude.

"I have to go to replace him, we don't lose time, we try to open the computer room with this badge." They forwarded to the computer room in the bottom of the hallway and John badged at the entry with the guard's badge. The door opened.

"Shaw, look around while Finch hacks the servers and call me if you need help." John said and he hurried toward the security guard room.

When John arrived at the security guard room his 'colleague' was waiting for him to walk to the break room. John waved at him and he approached him.

"You are the new that Paul has to train this evening. He told me that in a hurry. You already took his turn in his place. I come back in thirty minutes." The guard said grinning.

"Take your time." John shut the guard phone and dialed Finch.

"Finch, Shaw, there are three security guards tonight. A new one is in training and rounds through the stages. I didn't need to get this one to sleep because he thought that I was the new one. Be careful. I wait for the 'colleague' to return then I come back to you."

Thirty minutes later, the security guard came back from the break room, waving at John to go round in the stages. John hurried to the floor one. In the hallway, in a protective apron, a telescopic carpet sweeper in hand, Shaw was cleaning the floor lazily. Suddenly, sounds of footstep were coming toward us. They nodded at each other. John went into hiding in the office where the guard was asleep. The security guard glanced at Shaw with interest and he forwarded to her.

"I didn't know that there was a nice woman in the hallway at this moment. I'm Billy, and you?" He teased.

"Hum, Cookie, I'm Cookie." Shaw answered with a no-angry smile.

'Shit'. She thought.

"Sorry, I have a lot of work tonight." She said, opening the office's door where John was hidden.

She entered the office, the security guard followed her to scrutinize the room when John tapped on his shoulder and he punched him when he turned toward him. The guard was strong and he responded with a punch that John avoided in turning on his side. Then, John seized the guy by the back, with his arm, he compressed his carotid artery that drained the blood to his brain and he drove him into unconsciousness.

"You do that by the book, Reese." Shaw snorted.

John rolled his eyes and replied:

"Sorry to interrupt this erotic moment, Shaw." John shouted out with a smirk. Then he tied and he gagged the guard.

Shaw dialed Finch:

"How long Finch do you need from now? We immobilized two guards. Have you got your inputs?"

"I'm finishing, Ms. Shaw. Have you a plan to exit the bank?" Finch asked with concern.

"Yes, by the entrance door. John is going to amuse the security guard on floor 0 when we go out with the badge."

"That's a smart way to finish. I'm done here. Stay ready to go out." Finch concluded, coming out of the computer room.

"What do you find on the records?" John asked Finch.

"Later, at the library. We come back." Finch said with a content voice.

They all went down floor 0. John strode toward the security room where the guard stood and he tried to disturb his attention from the hall, standing in front of him with his large frame. He lighted off the computers screens in the room that panicked the guard. John waved at Finch and Shaw to cross the hall and to exit the bank while the guard was trying to restart the computer screens.

"Wait a minute, I heard a bizarre noise in the hall. Try to restart the screens, I gonna see it." John said, smiling at how naive the man was. He stole his badge and he went in the hall, he came out, badging the exit door.

'Where do they recruit these security guards?' He thought, they really need training in Special Forces to do their job, and yet, thinking to O'Neil!

Finch, Shaw, and John gave themselves a five in the street. Mission was done!

They reached the library where Finch reported them a debrief on the camera's records.

"So, there are three men who deposited the money, according to the dates and times I circled: the Russian of this morning Georg Gorbach, the Chief Accounting Officer Olaf Kimsky and Mr. Miller. This expedition had to be done to clarify the chessboard." Finch enumerated with concern.

"This is really a many-tentacled animal that plunges its claws everywhere to grip his power whatever the cost. We have to eliminate the three in one go." John said not with despondency.

"I worried about Mr. Miller, in the way that I feel he gave in to blackmail." Finch sadly answered.

"Tomorrow, this Georg Gorbach is going to deposit one million of dollars at the bank. We catch him with the money and we get rid of him." Shaw said without a doubt.

"How do you get rid of him?" Finch demanded, looking at Shaw and John.

"We can imagine he disappears with the money instead to put it at the bank. This will make Yogorov in fury." Shaw laughed at her good idea.

"I know how to get rid of him for a long time." John said looking Finch in the eyes.

"You know that I dislike violence, John." Finch shouted.

"Oh, this will not be violent, only surprising and nasty for him." John replied with a wicked smile.

John and Shaw decided to take care of Georg Gorbach first in the morning, then later of Olaf Kimsky. Finch would contact Mr. Miller to sound out his behavior and his involvement in the trafficking.  
When they split to go home it was 11:00 pm. John was tired and relieved to come back home not too late. When he entered his loft, Lisa was working on her computer. She looked up at him and grinned.

"I prepared you a Mediterranean recipe, John, come on." She said, walking toward him.

They kissed tenderly, she took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack.

"How was your day, baby?" John demanded while he sat at the dinner table where Lisa had set the table.

"I worked on the documents that Mr. Miller sent to me: description of the products, purchases, and sales, accounting sheets, contracts. All that I must know to plant me as the general manager. I noticed that my aunt had expensive tastes, huge of money has been spent on investments here and there. This will stop when I will be in place, better to reward employees with a good salary. And you, John, how was your day?" She spoke, bringing the Nicoise salad and bread. She sat across him and served them the salad.

"Today was a long work day, I'm glad to share the dinner with you, honey." John answered locking his blue-grey eyes with hers, kissing the inside of her hand.

"Eat, John, I did that especially for you. I also cooked mixed vegetables, tomatoes, zucchinis, bell peppers, garlic, thyme with olive oil and in dessert a St Tropez pie." She announced with a wide smile.

"Oh, you cooked all this for me." He said with awe.

"About cooking, I'm not as skilled as you but these recipes are my favorite."

They ate talking about things and others. John appreciated the meal and the attention she granted to him that warmed his heart. She was a loving and intelligent lady with qualities he hadn't discovered all yet. He wanted all of her. He observed her making the dishes, her rounded little buttocks tightened in her jeans and he thought that he was the luckiest man in the world to be loved by such a wonderful woman. He loved her deeply and he was scared to lose her. He couldn't live without her anymore. As long as they were stuck in his home they could see and love themselves but when she will be outside, free to live her life, how will they interact about keeping their relationship secret for her safety? He was thinking about this when she interrupted him and she sat on his lap:

"Take a shower when I finish on my computer, John." She caressed his cheeks and she kissed his mouth hotly.

John reacted instantaneously, roaming his hands under her tee-shirt and pressing her breasts while he stroked her tongue with his, moaning loudly in her mouth.

"Remember what I told you this morning, I'm going to eat you alive, my love." He murmured in his bedroom's voice.

She giggled and stood up while he strode to the bathroom. He undressed and showered, smiling at the steamy moments they were going to experience and the exciting sensations to undergo torture and torments of love in their bodies.  
He dried himself and he wrapped the towel around his hips. He exited the bathroom, she was always stuck on her keyboard. He picked her up in his arms.

"Enough working, Lisa, now I'm going to care about you." He said, closing the cover of her computer, checking that the door was locked and switching off the lights, all with one hand.

They stumbled on the bed and crawled in the middle. John kissed her hungrily and unzipped her jeans, sliding his hand under her underwear to caress her sex.

"Humm, I love your soft skin here. This is all mine." He whispered in her neck, taking off her jeans along her legs and pushing it down with his foot.

He removed her panty, in the same way, then he straddled her and took off her tee-shirt and bra. She was breathing heavily, submerged by the desire to be covered by his strong body, to cry under his hands and his mouth. She unwrapped the towel from his waist, his hard pulsating penis right on her stomach sent a hot wave between her legs that caused her to gasp. He smiled and he laid down on top of her, rubbing his hips against hers, he plunged his tongue into her open mouth and he gave her a devastating kiss. She kissed him back with such ardor that he almost came instantly. He broke the kiss to trail his wet lips over her ears, her neck, her shoulders. She undulated under him as an electric eel, flexible and stimulating like the whip of the tamer. She gripped his shoulders when he licked and he sucked her breasts, moaning like a smitten cat. He nibbled her nipples and he sucked them one by one, gripping her sides in his large hands. She lifted her hips up to feel his skin on hers, she was demanding his contact tonight and he enjoyed that she was so in need of him. He continued his way down kissing her stomach everywhere with his hot lips and licking down toward her navel. She had parted her legs to ease him between them, he kissed her inner thighs, each one, nibbling along them till her knees. She was writhing like a wild kitten under his caresses, digging her nails into his arms and moaning in frustration. He was going to make her explode with pleasure when things would start. He slid his hands under her buttocks and he bent his head between her legs. He started to lick her closed folds up and down and all around that made her hips jump up and her pussy collide with his mouth. His tongue slid delicately into her inner folds that opened to his caresses, he sucked gently her clit then her entrance, up and down and left to right many times then he dived his tongue into her entrance, lifting her behind with his hands to plug his mouth against her heat. She cried his name, gripping his head. He initiated a back-and-forth movement with his tongue into her inside, first slowly, twisting it to stimulate her sensitivity. When she moaned louder, he increased the pressure of his mouth and the rhythm of his dancing tongue. Her hips jerked upwards against his loving and famished mouth demanding her release. He sped and hardened the strokes of his tongue till and beyond he felt her walls clenched around it, she climaxed in a burst of shouts of his name. He had flown her out of control on another planet. He lifted his body upon her and entered his penis into her hot entrance. The last tremors of her orgasm squeezed his cock. He moved slowly into her, holding her tightly against his chest and he murmured on her lips:

"You are so beautiful everywhere, in your body, in your heart, that I can't stop loving you, I want to be with you at the end of my life, my sweetheart."

She rolled her arms around his back and pressed him against her harder, locking her green eyes with his, she kissed him with passion and emotion, tears ran on the side of her eyes. He thrust into her deeper and longer again and again that made her breath race and her body dance under him, bringing them near the edge. He held back his release till she climaxed one more time and she took him with her in an explosion of pleasure and sensations when he gave her his precious life liquid. He fell onto her, his heart pounding as he had run a marathon. He wasn't tired, he was overwhelmed with his feelings she was exacerbating more and more every day.

He slightly slid on his side, rolling her with him and they slowly came back to earth. His penis softened and slipped off of her. She circled his neck with her arms and she kissed lightly everywhere on his face, playing with the hair in his nape.

"I adored this V of hair in your nape, it's sexy and so you." She whispered in a languid voice.

Her words turned him upside down and stirred his desire up. He kissed her hard and long and he murmured in a burning sigh rolling on his back with her on top of him:

"Love me, love me, Lisa." He guided her hand on his semi-hard penis.

She trailed kisses all over his head, his face, murmuring sweet love words that made him tremble. She caressed his cock and she stroked him slowly still kissing him everywhere. Then her mouth took possession of the head of his penis when her hand wrapped the base of it. She sucked gently downward and upward his cock over and over. She licked all the length of it, all along the veins, his balls and under.  
John loved so much what she did that he was jumping his hips up, demanding more, moaning, gasping, his hands in her hair. She licked and sucked gently the head and the ring under it, earning a guttural sound of him in his throat:

"Oh my God, aaaah, yes Lisaaa.."

She continued to do it again and again, speeding just a little the rhythm then slowing it, repeating the change of pace. John was breathing deep, gasping and fisting the sheets, arms spreadeagled like a crucified man waiting for the ultimate sacrifice.

"Yes like that Lisa, don't stop, aaaah.." He enjoyed how she loved him.

She licked his tip, tasting his precum then she sped her sucking on his head and his ring, heightening a little the pressure with her lips till he shouted her name and he emptied himself into her mouth. She swallowed his semen and she continued to suck him gently till his penis became softer and dropped off her mouth. She crawled on top of his side and she kissed him softly. He didn't move, he had passed out. When he regained consciousness a few seconds after, he whispered:

"Lisa, you really killed me there. Never in my life, I passed out in bed." He kissed her all over her face and lips, tasting himself in her mouth.

"You scared me, John, I thought I did something wrong." She murmured.

"No, no, you can do it again as many times as you want." John said and they laughed like two teenagers.

They cuddled under the comforter and fell asleep as two flies.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated and contribute to motivate the writer and guide the story.


	12. Chapter 12 Clean-up Operation

Catching the bad guys may be sometimes easy and violent.

Warning: love scene at the beginning of this chapter. If you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 12

Lisa woke up the first, half-straddling John's body, his left arm around her shoulders. She lifted her head up and contemplated his relaxed sleeping face, the beginning of a candid smile on his lips, the shade of his long eyelashes, his disheveled short hair with this insolvable cowlick. She sighed and smiled, thinking how he was beautiful and vulnerable here and now. As if he felt be watched he slowly opened his eyes, exiting from sleep and he looked at her.

"Hmmm, you already awaken, my love, you are spying on me." He murmured softly, rolling on his side, taking her in his embrace and kissing her lovingly.

"Yes, I'm spying my preferred secret agent." She whispered with a soft smile.

"Oh, your preferred secret agent caught you in the act and you are now his prisoner and he is going to punish you for that." He breathed with a smile, his parted lips took hers in a burning and devastating kiss. She kissed him back, rolling him on his back, straddling him on his waist and immobilizing him with her arms and her thighs.

"I'm not your prisoner but you are mine." She laughed when he raised his brows.

"I need my workout this morning and I gonna have it." He sat on the bed and he grasped her body against his and devoured her neck with his hot lips, sliding his hand in her hair in the back of her neck he pulled her head against his and crashed his mouth on hers.

"Huumm Lisa, love you, my lady." He sighed in her mouth.

"John, John, I love you too, you know it." She exhaled closing her eyes.

He rolled them on the side and Lisa on her back. He laid on top of her and entered her in one thrust. She cried her surprise and her pleasure. He bent her left leg on her shoulder and he moved into her slowly again and again, that made her die, so much she liked his delicate softness, knowing that he could change his behavior and become harsh sometimes like he needed to spend his energy during their union. He thrust into her over and over, locking his eyes with hers and drinking her moans of pleasure. Her parted smiling lips appealed his searing kisses. That was it, he was unleashing strong and deep strokes that shook her body. He clasped her in his strong arms to immobilize her and he targeted her G spot as often than he could. When he hit it she gave up her body to his strength and she cried loudly his name feeling a hot flame burning in her stomach.

"Yes, come, my lovely lady, come with me now." He sighed, stiffening against her.

Their orgasms exploded together, he gave her his precious semen while her walls trembled around his cock. She felt his warm stream raining into her. They shouted their names, they sounded their emotions noisily and they kissed desperately. They came down from their heights a few minutes later.

"John, John." She murmured, holding him tightly in her arms as she wanted to melt her body into his.

"Yes, baby, I'm yours forever." He whispered and he understood that she was frightened of losing him.

"John, promise me to be careful. I'm always scared you don't come back to me." Suddenly, a bad feeling had raised in her mind with the fact that she couldn't imagine living without him in her life.

Every day, she waited for him to come back alive. This tortured her and it sharpened her guilt that he risked his life for her safety. She loved him even more for that but she felt selfish and responsible if something bad would happen to him.

"That's not going to happen. I promise, don't worry my love, I know how to do my job. I have to go." He kissed her with tenderness and he got off the bed to shower.

On his way, John stopped at the coffee shop to buy the Sencha green tea for Finch and two black coffees.  
At 07:00 am, he climbed the stairs of the library, Finch and Shaw had just arrived too. He handed them their beverage with a smile.

"Good morning you two." He said.

"Good morning, Mr. Reese, thank you for the tea." Finch said with a serious face.

"Hey, you in great shape, workout this morning?" Shaw asked with a mischievous voice.

As usual, John sighed and ignored her banter.

"This morning we are going to corner Georg Gorbach when he arrives at the bank. Then we look after Olaf Kimsky." John announced.

"I am going to see and talk to Mr. Miller." Finch announced to his team.

"Be careful, Finch." John warned with concern.

John and Shaw drank their coffee and they exited the library to stake out in the street in front of the Bank of America.  
Georg Gorbach arrived and he parked his car in the street. When he exited his car, John sank the barrel of his gun in his side and he murmured with an icy voice:

"Give me your ignition key, your phone, your gun and your briefcase, all is right if you do what I say." John commanded with a menacing tone.

The man obeyed. Shaw took the start key and she broke the phone with her heel. Then she seized the colt and the briefcase and she sat in the driver seat of the man's car. She nodded at Reese and she pulled away in the traffic. John pushed the man in the small hallway behind the bank, toward his car. He opened the trunk and he ordered the man to enter into it. He got him to sleep knocking the butt of his gun on his head and he tied and gagged him. He had a long way to ride toward Mexico to deliver the package to the Torreon penitentiary, a two-way trip in ninety hours, almost four days, without too long pauses. He started his car that he pulled away in the traffic. Once he was out of New York he dialed Shaw.

"Yeah John, the car is slowly diving in the river, I kept the briefcase as we can use it against Kimsky. Where are you?" Shaw questioned.

"I'm driving him to the hell of his life. I come back in four days. Get an eye on Kimsky but wait for me to catch him. The disappearing of Gorbach is going to make waves in the Russian hive of activity. Don't risk to work it alone. You got it?"

"Okay, Reese. Take care of you. Call us once a day." Shaw warned. She wondered where he drove, four days away...

In the evening John called Lisa to tell her that he would be absent for four days and that he loved her more than his life. During the journey he slept in motels, feeding his hostage and making him at ease to shower and to sleep in a bed. He let Gorbach at the penitentiary of Torreon, telling the authority that he was a drug trafficker and he produced proves of his crimes, showing them drug packs that Gorbach had in his possession. Then he drove back to New York, with only a halt to rest in a motel. He arrived in New York, exhausted but proud to have locked up the guy. He dialed Finch and Shaw that Gorbach was out of the loop for a long time. He came back home at midnight. Lisa opened the door and threw herself into his arms, circling her arms around his back. He shut the door and he locked it. He caressed her hair and he kissed her forehead.

"Sshh, I'm here, my love, hmm, stop watching me like that because I'm going to kiss you nonstop." He murmured, lifting her up to put her head on his level and kissing her passionately.

"John, John, I missed you so much, I thought of you all the time you were out." She whispered in a trembling voice.

"I missed you too, honey." He answered, locking his blue-grey eyes with hers.

"Come on and eat something, I cooked chicken and potatoes for you and a salad." She said, a smile curling up her lips.

"First, I shower then I eat your meal, love." He said.

While he showered, Lisa set the dinner table for him and she warmed his meal. He came back from the bathroom in a tracksuit and a fresh undershirt and he sat at the dinner table. Lisa served him the salad with the roasted chicken and the potatoes, a beer and water.

"Hum, it's good." He said, eating with a good appetite.

After the dinner, Lisa made the dishes with John, then they lighted off the lights, John undressed and he laid on the bed heavily. Lisa showered then she put on her pajamas and she got into the bed beside John. He turned on his side and he gazed at her.

"My lady, come here, I need to feel you against me. These four days away from you were worse than to cross the desert without water." She stuck her body against his and she rolled her arms around his neck.

He took her lips with his, plunging his tongue into her open mouth and he caressed her internal seams and teeth with it, increasing the pressure of his strokes. They moaned in need of each other caresses.

"Why do you wear all these things?" He said with a tender smile, taking her pajamas off.

"I love it when you undress me." She murmured hotly in his mouth.

He rolled on his back, dragging her onto him:

"You do it all tonight, baby, I need you to sit on top of me." He said with a wide smile, his hands rubbing her body everywhere.

She guided his hard penis toward her hot entrance and she lowered herself on it slowly till it filled her completely. Her hands on his chest, she started to move upward and downward while he met her thrusts softly one by one, caressing her sides and her thighs. She rode him with softness, stroking his breasts, his arms and his shoulders. He closed his eyes and he began to breathe heavily as she was turning him on with her hands on his skin and the hotness of her tight inside around his cock. She took each of his hands into each of hers and she intertwined their fingers. She lifted them up on each side of his head and she leaned on them. She slid up and down on his cock, over and over, rocking her body on it, squeezing his fingers earning heavy moans and sighs from him. He had let go, she was totally in control to pleasure him.

"Dammit, Lisa, how do you do that?" He shouted, already near the edge.

She laid down on him, rubbing her breasts against his, she kissed his neck, his chin, his mouth as she was famished, she sped her thrusts and he couldn't hold back his orgasm that exploded into her. She felt his penis jerk into her many times when his semen ran into her walls.

"Lisa, Lisa, love you." He cried in her mouth. His emotions appealed her release. She climaxed and cried his name while she tightened his cock inside her.

"John, I love you." She was never tired to say it to him, she knew that he needed to feel that he was cherished and loved. His face illuminated and his eyes sparkled when she said she loved him.

When coming down on earth, his arms circled her back and caressed her from her head to her behind. He kissed her lovingly.

"I have always avoided becoming attached because I was scared to lose...Then it falls on me, the day I met you. You are stuck with me forever, I will never let you go, if you go I will find you wherever you are." He rolled them onto his side and wrapped her in his arms under the comforter. Soon sleep submerged them.

John got off the bed early. He showered, dressed and cooked the breakfast. The coffee was ready, he ate his breakfast then he wore his jacket and put his colt in the back of his waistband. He strode to his bed to give a goodbye kiss to Lisa. When he lowered his head on hers, she snaked her arms around his neck and she pulled him into a tender embrace, she kissed him pouring all her love into her kiss. He kissed her back passionately, he clasped her tightly in his arms and he locked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"My baby love, I am going to think of you all day. I call you soon, stay quiet here, hum." He stood up with regrets and he strode to his door. He exited outside, thinking about their future.

* * *

At the library, Finch was upside-down, typing frantically on his keyboard.

"Good morning, Finch, what's up?" John asked, seeing his friend worried.

"Good morning, Mr. Reese. The Russians are in the town, searching for Mr. Gorbach. They winded Elias up, taking one of his guys down, in retaliation Elias killed Ivan Yogorov. Elias and the Russians are pitting noisily. The press related to fights and shots in the streets with collateral damages. The police are on red alert."

"The Russians are looking for the one million of dollars. They are going to know where to find it." John answered, gazing at Shaw who just arrived.

"Good morning, Ms. Shaw." Finch said turning to her.

"Morning, Finch, morning, Reese." Shaw responded, nodding at John, handing them their beverages.

"I called Mr. Miller to get an appointment with him. This was a delicate subject as I introduced myself as a Treasury Officer mediator. Finally, I met him at his office. I related to some discrepancy in the Riviere Company about the money in the bank accounts and the enterprise benefits. I asked him if cash money might have been deposit at the bank and he answered me that he did once for Mrs. Riviere when she was yet alive and ill. Otherwise, he never had manipulated cash money, earlier or later. This was only one time. I assured him that he had no interest to do it again as he was in the sights of the IRS and that the Riviere Company had a standing image to preserve. He agreed with a lot of thanks. I can say that Mr. Miller is rather honest, Mrs. Riviere was certainly under influence, we have an answer to one of our questions in the beginning."

"You did a good job, Finch. Now we are going to put Kimsky back on the right track too." John nodded at Shaw.

"I followed him during your absence, I noticed nothing weird about him. He respects office hours, he has drinks with friends, then he comes back to his place. A normal guy, almost a real catch." She sighed with disappointment.

"The higher up you go the harder it is to tell the good guys to the bad guys." John answered.

"What is the plan for him?" Shaw asked.

"Stopping him to spend the dirty money through the Riviere enterprise. This is to say, stopping him to go to work, he is going to give his notice or to go in holidays, or to have an accident, or to be ill or to go in jail." John enumerated.

"I would tend more for an accident that would force him to have holidays in jail. With one million dollars and some packs of drugs in the trunk of his car, it's illegal but that would work." Shaw laughed merrily.

"You know Shaw, you can't make something right by doing something wrong." John answered raising his eyebrows.

Then John and Shaw exited the library. They drove to Kimsky's home and they parked their car behind his. They picked the lock of the trunk of Kimsky's car and put in it the briefcase and the packs of the drug. John stole a car parked in the street and they waited for Kimsky to exit his home. Kimsky showed up a few minutes after. He climbed into his car, he started it and he pulled away in the traffic. Reaching the West Side Highway, Shaw bumped his car with violence. The impact sent it to slide along a pillar and it rolled over. They stopped their car and looked at Kimsky that was moaning in pain but alive. John dialed Fusco.

"Hey, let me guess, Mr. Dark and Stormy in some kind of trouble." Fusco shouted in a low voice.

"Good morning, Fusco. Just saying that an accident happened on West Side Highway at Linda's Lawn Riverside Park South level. The driver is a dizzy bad guy. Please, pay some attention to his trunk." John said.

"Wonderboy has yet struck, who is this guy?" Fusco sighed.

"A desk jokey of the Russian mob."

"I knew you guys were crazy, but this is next level, nuts." Fusco exclaimed.

"Detective, you will thank us later." John disconnected.

"Shaw, Fusco is coming to pick him up. Let go back to Kimsky's home and look into his things." They sped toward Kimsky's home.

John dialed Finch to inform him that Kimsky was going into custody and they both were going to his home.  
When they arrived they parked the car a block further. They walked into the building of Kimsky and they lifted up to floor two. They picked his lock, they entered the cozy flat and they began to rummage through the drawers, in the closets, under the furniture. They found property acts of the purchases done with the dirty money in the foreign countries. Suddenly, sounds of footstep put them on the alert. They seized their guns and they waited for the incomers. Two armed men came on in the hall. With muffled little steps, they forwarded into the master room. John and Shaw aimed at them and they fired to their kneecaps. The men stumbled on the floor, crying in pain. John pushed their guns away with his foot and he commanded Shaw to leave and that he followed her. He gathered all the interesting sheets and he strode to the door. When he opened it, Shaw was handcuffed and gagged, and she was trapped between two other guys with a barrel on her temple. She gazed at him with wide eyes.

"Your gun, your phone, and your earbud. Otherwise, we get her to swallow her birth certificate. Don't try to be a smartass with us." One of the men hissed with a heavy Russian accent.

John was mad at himself to have commanded her to leave. He failed with her. He knew that in any case, they were both in a pending death execution, he had to react now to get out this trap. In a millisecond, he shot in the head of the guy who aimed Shaw while his other hand disarmed the second and he twisted his arm and broke it. The man fell to the ground, screaming painfully. Shaw sank her heel into his throat to strangle him. John knocked his head with the butt of his colt to shut up his mouth. John relieved Shaw of the gag and in two seconds he opened her handcuffs with a paper clip.

"You are a walking stationery store, Reese." She smiled at him and she gathered her colt, phone and earpiece from the pocket of the dead man.

"I'm interested in these little things, I always have some in my pocket." He answered seriously while he searched in the pockets of the men for papers. He found a business card about a nightclub that he put in his pocket.

"Never missed the shot you did just now?" Shaw asked with awe.

"Not yet, it's the first time." John replied in a serious tone.

"We have to get off of here before the cops arrive." Shaw warned.

"Hope there is no welcoming committee at the exit. We go down to the stairs." John mumbled.

They went down by the stairs just to see the cavalry running in the hall. They forwarded to the back of the building and they exited by a service entrance. They rounded the building to reach their car when they spotted Fusco and Carter in great conversation. They climbed into their car and they pulled away. On the way, John dialed Carter.

"Detective Carter." She announced.

"Hi, Detective. You missed me?" John said in a smooth voice.

"John, where are you? Just between us: stop to spread trouble. I got a mountain of paperwork because of you. The dead man and the three others out of service are your characteristics. Why don't you call the police instead to tackle mobster men?" She shouted in an angry voice.

"This time, I didn't call the police, Detective." He teased, content she was angry at him.

"You called Lionel this morning, well the guy is going to be in custody because he carried drug packs and one million of dollars in his car, even he claimed that it was not his. And again, we have been called after shootings had been heard in a building. John, one day you are going to end dead, and no one will know what it has happened to you." She murmured in a worried voice.

"Oh, you worried about me, Detective. We are friends, I'm sure you will look for me if one day I disappeared." John whispered.

"I don't know, with all the work you give to me." She answered defiantly.

"Have a good day, Detective." John cut the call, smiling.

"You and Carter, I never mind you have an affair with her." Shaw blurted out.

"We are just friends. She's a good cop, a good person." John answered dryly.

"You talked to her with an erotic appealing voice." Shaw pushed a little more.

"It's my voice!" John stammered.

"You never spoke to me like that, Reese." She pouted.

"Mr. Reese, what did happen? Detective Carter seemed angry with you." Finch called them.

"Yeah, Finch, we looked into Kimsky's home and we found some interesting pieces. Then we needed to clean the way to exit the building. Detectives Carter and Fusco have been called. Finch, we are going to visit a nightclub, the Tatiana, we found a business card on a Russian we knocked down. We came back to the library to change." John ended the call.

"Reese, why are we going to this nightclub? What are you expecting to find?" Shaw asked.

"We know when we find." John answered.

At the library, they reported to Finch their expedition and gave him the documents about the properties purchased in the foreign countries. John told him that the Tatiana nightclub was located at 3152 Brighton 6th Street in Brooklyn, that was to say in the Russian mob perimeter.

"John, the owner is a Russian woman Tatiana Tanzar. This nightclub has a standard image but has been the target of gangs that are used to blacken and damage the location to get a hold of it. I don't know what you are going to learn here. Be careful, you are going to a dangerous area, don't get in trouble here." Finch worried about the decision John took to visit this place.

John and Shaw changed their clothes to be more elegant. Shaw wore a sexy leather tight black dress, with black stilettos, she made her hair in a bun and she put light makeup on his face. She carried her gun and her phone in her purse. John had showered, he changed his suit and he wore a grey shirt with a black tie. He was gorgeous and Shaw very attractive.

"Are we not looking too much class for a nightclub?" Shaw asked, looking at herself in a mirror.

"No, you aren't. This is a high standard restaurant and nightclub. People are required to be gussied-up." Finch knew what he was talking about.

John thought to call Lisa, isolating himself in a room:

"Lisa, my sweetie, how are you?" He murmured warmly.

"I'm fine, and you, John?" She answered in a little voice.

"I'm fine too, I may come back late tonight, honey, I love you." He lowered his voice.

"I watched the news on the TV, police is everywhere in the town and they spoke about a "Man in the Suit" that kneecapped guys with his gun. It's you, isn't it?" She demanded.

"I'm not the only one to wear a suit, sweetheart." John knew that she knew. Now she was worried more and more about him.

"Don't lie to me otherwise I will not believe you anymore when you say you love me." She whispered, waiting for his admission.

"I swear I love you more than my life, I would die for you, my love. I'm sorry, I have to go now."

"Please, John, promise me to be careful." She breathed a subtle sigh.

"I promise, my love." He ended the call.

When he exited the room, he smirked and shook his head because Lisa was smart to dig for the truth. Shaw glanced at him.

"Hey, you look like the boy who embarrassed himself at the school concert." She said with a smile.

"Let's go to work, Shaw, you risk to dance with me tonight." He teased.

At the end of the afternoon, they soon left the library. They drove to the Tatiana nightclub. They parked the car two blocks further, behind the nightclub.  
They entered Tatiana and they were greeted with pounding, bass-heavy music and lights cast low and blue. Long tables were set in the main dining room, piled high with plates upon plates of food and bottles of Russian vodka and crowded with large groups of gussied-up patrons.  
It felt like entering a wedding reception they weren't invited to. They managed to flag down the host and they were quickly ushered to a table practically on top of the wooden dance floor and accompanying stage. Some patrons took to the dance floor while others continued eating, and they took this lull in the night's events to look around. They weren't as out of place as they had expected them to be, and while they heard snippets of Russian conversation jumping around, there didn't seem to be a shortage of English either.

"I'm starved. I can't work on an empty stomach." Shaw shouted.

Soon a waiter served them six plates full of foods and beverages, almost all Russian specialties. A heaping bowl of hybrid chicken-and-egg salad was topped with fried onions, and long strips of smoked salmon and butterfish were covered in lemon juice and capers, pork Kabob, rack of lamb, Bojarsky cutlet veal and chicken ground meat, mixed with special blend of spices topped with mushroom sauce, strangely, a full Greek salad too. They ate and got a sight on the crowd.

"I've never been under so much pressure to eat in my life." Shaw spoke with her mouth full.

"Shaw, look at the table in the bottom left. Four men are waiting for something, gazing at the customers. They are armed." John had noticed the strange behavior of the men and he wondered what they were planning.

"Shaw, come on the dance floor. We get to go near them. I will pay attention to your feet." John led Shaw on the dance floor and took her in his arms.

"You smell good, Reese, and your hands are warm." Shaw laughed in his jacket.

"Shaw, stop, this is not the time!" John said dryly.

"Aie, you walk on my toes." She complained.

They danced near the four men when these ones stood up, their hands on their guns, looking at the entrance door where a man was near to enter. John and Shaw understood that they wouldn't hesitate to fire through the crowd and by common consent, they assaulted them with their fists, their arms, their knees, their feet, with bottles, trays, plates and pots.

"Mr. Reese, what is going on?" Finch called in a panic.

"Finch, we are a little busy here." John answered while he distributed heavy blows here and there.

A huge mayhem followed near the table, the noises were covered with the loud music. Falling bodies had not awakened too much suspicion as Russians were solid drunks and troublemakers. John and Shaw exited the Tatiana leaving a hundred at the waiter.

"Hey, Finch, sorry, we avoided a gunfire at Tatiana between four Russians and an unknown man who turned back. We stay in our car to stake out the nightclub." John reported to Finch.

"Mr. Reese, I told you to stay out of trouble." Finch shouted with worry.

"Collateral damaged would have been unappeasable if we wouldn't have reacted." John answered and he disconnected.

They climbed into their car and parked near the Tatiana nightclub. An hour later, the four men exited, they climbed into a car and pulled away. John and Shaw tailed them at a reasonable distance. Suddenly, at a crossroads, a huge van crashed into their car, sending it straight into the wall of a building.

"Mr. Reese, Ms. Shaw, are you alright?" Finch shouted in their ears. No answer came back to Finch.

Unconscious because of the collision, they didn't feel that they were extracted from their car and they were carried in a van where they were tied and gagged. Their phones and earpieces were destroyed and their guns were taken away from them. Their bodies hurt and they wanted to vomit due to the bumps on their heads. John looked at Shaw with concern as she was always in a semi-consciousness. John heard Russian language and understood that they were going to be questioned about their stay at Tatiana nightclub and the mayhem they did. He heard that they suspected them to work for Elias. The van drove on a gravel area, then on a smooth level as in a warehouse. They had been extracted from the van and led to sit on chairs. Their feet, arms and wrists were tied to their chair.

Men began to question them about their boss, about Elias, about Gorbach, about a briefcase full of money. They answered that they didn't know either Elias nor Gorbach. Blows rained on their heads and their chests. John didn't complain, he was hard to the pain. But he was worried about Shaw who was beaten on their breasts and her face that was already swollen and bruised. She swore insults and spits at them. They injected her an anesthetic product to shut her mouth and they focused on John to extort what they wanted. In the past, he had endured the torture that toughened him up, when he sensed that he could near give way, he focused his thoughts strongly on a thing or a person.

He spent the night under the blows till he fell unconscious. When he emerged from the shades, Lisa's smiling face gave him the courage to endure the day as he had spent the night. They gave alcohol to Shaw. With the anesthetic product they previously injected to her, it had shaken her: she trembled in hypothermia, she heavily breathed, she stayed unconscious, probably her heart was racing and pounding as hell in her chest. She had vomited on her dress. John was scared that she succumbed to a heart attack.

Finally, the second night, they let them in their unconsciousness, without food, without water, they were dehydrated and sounds began to fill their ears. He sensed that Finch was probably searching for them, that he would find a solution. But, more the hours passed, more he thought that it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. He thought to Lisa that he loved so much, that she worried about him and she was scared to lose him. He would hold on her as long as he could. He would die with her image in his mind and in his heart. He was devastated that if the worse happened she would be hurt by his fault. Tears filled his eyes but he held them back. He was still alive, he will resist as long as he could for her.

"The boss said to carry them in the last truck in the parking. The girl is not conscious, but get him to sleep before to move him. Okay?" A man said.

John felt a syringe in his neck and soon darkness engulfed him.  
He woke up in a large truck, tightly tied to a metal bench. In front of him, Shaw was tied to the other bench. Two men were in charge to watch them. John thought that they would be executed here and be driven somewhere to be buried or burned or dived into the river. They were waiting for the night to do their dirty work. He remembered when he did this 'dirty work' when he was a CIA agent. He killed people his government ordered to kill, without witnesses, cleaning all the traces. Now he was waiting the moment his killer would take his life and send him to hell.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Your ideas are welcome to go on this story. John and Shameen are near death time. But as you know new chapters are coming, so they are going to follow their purpose: helping people.


	13. Chapter 13 No Choice

Missing Reese and Shaw. Finch has a problem.

* * *

Chapter 13

Time was 10:00 am. John and Shaw were missing for thirty-six hours. No call from them, no signal from their phones, no tracks on the cameras of the city. This wasn't usual, they called many times a day to stay in touch with him, something had happened to them, something bad. Finch has spent a full day to call all the hospitals and clinics in New York and he has always got the same answer: no one matched John or Ms. Shaw. He has scanned all the camera's images he could without finding anything. Finally, he called Detective Carter. She answered on the third ring.

"Detective Carter." She murmured.

"Detective, it's Harold. Glad to hear from you." He said with a worried tone.

"Hi Harold, I'm busy here. Fusco and I are in Philadephia as witnesses in a trial. I can't stay too long on the line. What's up?" She whispered.

"Nothing, nothing urgent, Detective. When do you return?" Finch asked disappointedly.

"Next week. Tell me, what is going on?" She insisted.

"This can wait, Detective. Don't worry. Have a good day."

"Thanks, you too."

Finch couldn't imply the Detectives, knowing that they were summoned to a trial. He wouldn't forgive himself if they left the court where they were witnesses. Their credibility and their career could be destroyed. He had to think about an alternate solution, he had to work on how to find John and Ms. Shaw by himself. He went on his inquiries about a potential accident, calling most of the garages and impounds of the town. Finally, he learned that the car of John had been found crashed into a building, but no bodies in it. All this work took him hours of research. He wondered how he was going to find them in New York or anywhere else. He had no clue when suddenly the screen of his computer flickered, screening an image, first blurrily then clearly with a text:

' **SEND THE WARRIOR** ' under the image of Lisa in her army uniform.

"NO." Finch shouted in anger.

' **THE KNIGHT CHESS PIECE** ' She wrote.

"No way, she's our person of interest, her life is threatened, she must stay in hiding." Finch stuttered.

' **I WILL HELP HER** ' She insisted.

Finch was astonished that the Machine was willing to help in the rescue of John and Ms. Shaw and She targeted Lisa as the savior. He had never programmed the Machine to initiate behaviors of empathy but only to give social numbers. If She was becoming as intelligent and sensible as a human, this was disturbing because this meant that She had changed the code he had written.

"You want her to save them but do you know where they are?" Finch asked the Machine.

The screen flickered in a multitude of blank and black dots and it displayed the area of Brooklyn with a pinpoint on the hardware store 'The Home Depot' at 2970 Cropsey Avenue.

"And naturally I must believe you!" Finch sighed incredulously.

' **YOU HAVE NO CHOICE!** ' She warned.

Finch was ill to think that he would be obliged to insert Lisa in the middle of the danger, but at the moment he hadn't another choice. In the chess game, the knight was quickly shifted in the middle of the chessboard because a knight on the rim is grim. He was also ashamed that the Machine thought to experience the chess game he taught to Her in such a difficult situation. The end justified the means.

Finch printed the chart She displayed on the screen. Then he called Lisa, not without hesitation because he knew that this was highly dangerous for her and certainly John would be terribly angry. But he thought that it was better he would be angry than dead.

"Mr. Finch, where is John?" Lisa asked in a broken voice.

"Ms. Adrian, I am going to come and see you at John's home and explain. I arrive in thirty minutes."

Taking his computer with him, Finch left the library in hurry. Thirty minutes later, he knocked at the door of John's home. Lisa opened the door and she became blank looking at the worried face of Finch. Time was 09:00 pm.

"What is going on Mr. Finch, where is John, is he hurt? I didn't hear about him for more than two days." She enumerated out of breath.

"Call me Harold. John and Ms. Shaw are on the mission and I don't have any calls of them for forty-seven hours now, that is not in our process. Something wrong had happened that they can't join me. I searched for them in the hospitals and clinics of the city without success. I called Detective Carter and Fusco but they are involved in a trial and out of town until next week. I know that their car has crashed into a building. But now I know where there are."

"Call me Lisa. You said that you searched for them in the hospitals and clinics. And now you know where they are. Is it your 'source' that told you?" She demanded and mimicked apostrophes with her fingers.

"Yes." Finch exhaled, realizing that he mixed his neurons under the pressure and the stress. She trapped him.

"And what else did your 'source' tell you?" She folded her arms on her chest.

"She told me the address where they are and she told me to send you to save them."

"Why haven't you start with that?" She shouted angrily.

"Harold, open this closet." She commanded and she shoved him the arsenal closet of John.

Finch went to the kitchen, he came back with the key and he gave it to her. She opened the closet and she selected the weapons she would carry with her. She looked at the large bulletproof vest and ammunition.

She rushed to the closet where she had cleaned her clothes up and she chose black jeans and teeshirt, black jacket and boots. She undressed in front of Harold that turned his back to her, blushing hard. He just had glanced an eye at her to judge that she was really beautiful, with or without clothes. She wore the pants and the boots. She lifted her hair up into a ponytail.

"Harold I need your help for the bulletproof vest. It's too large." She spoke very quickly.

Finch turned in front of her, she was wearing the bulletproof vest but she was unable to fix it because it floated around her.

"Try to grip it tightly. Yes, like that. Now fix it with the scratch. Thank you."

In a hurry, she wore the black teeshirt and the jacket. She put two guns in the back of her waistband, whose a Sig P220, a silencer, a dagger and ammunition in her pockets. She filled a backpack with two other guns and ammunition. Her movements were precise and sharp, no trembling, no emotions, only speed and control. Nothing was enough for John, if needed she was able to kill with self-control whatever the cost. When she enlisted, she trained to destroy adverse targets, to capture or eliminate terrorists, to free hostages and to guide planes from the ground during air strikes. Tonight she was going on a mission, determined to fight and win with no one to have her back. She was armed to the teeth, she trained every morning doing her workout, she was alert and vigilant, and John was in danger.

"Lisa, will you be able to see through that mission?" Finch demanded her with a shaky voice.

"I will do my best, Harold. I must say you that I will take down without mercy the bastards that detain them. Don't worry, I learned that during five years and I forgot nothing. If I must kill someone, I will do it." She answered with an icy voice.

"You know Finch, John is a very intense man, precious and rare. He is a rough diamond which is become a real and beautiful treasure that has started to shine. I will never let this radiance go out. We are blessed to know him." Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears.

Finch shook his head, moved by her words. He gave her an earpiece to connect with her burner phone.

"Stay in touch with me always." He murmured.

"Done. We go Harold." She commanded to Finch, dragging him hastily toward the door.

Finch followed her as quickly as he could, astounded by her energy and willing. They locked the door and they hurried in the elevator. They entered the car and they pulled away toward the hardware store 'The Home Depot' in Brooklyn. During the ride, she asked Finch about John's loneliness:

"Do you know why John is so lonely?"

"If he didn't tell you, he has his reasons." Finch knew but he wasn't his role to inform Lisa about John.

"Has he had some relationship here?" She insisted.

"John is a very secretive person." Finch was aware of John and Zoe Morgan, although John didn't say a word about it.

"He is someone special. The first time I met him, I felt safe with him. I have been impressed by his sharp and gloomy look that read in my soul. I don't know why I tell you that." She softly smiled.

Finch looked at her and he smiled. He understood that she deeply loved him and that John, probably, had feelings for her too.

Forty minutes later they parked the car a block further the store. It was closed and dark. Trucks lined up in the parking of the store.

"I am going to visit the trucks in first." She wore the ski mask and she went out of the car like a big cat.

The high entrance portal was locked. She entered the parking climbing the fence with agility. Ten big trucks were lined. If they were in one of them, guards might be with them. She had to ensure that they might not be here before searching for them inside the store. She screwed the silencer on the barrel of the Sig P220 she held. She roamed silently around each truck, walking on the side with short and light steps, she was on the lookout for any noise. She pressed her ear against the truck side to find out breaths, blows or vibrations sounds. A dry stick broke under her foot, making a little noise.

"Shit." She stopped and she laid down on the ground.

She heard the sound of a heavy door that opened and feet jumping on the ground. Two trucks in front of her, he was. She waited for him as he was walking in her direction, a gun in his hand. When he reached the truck where she was, she lifted up and shot one bullet in the middle of his forehead.

"Lisa, all is right?" Finch whispered.

"Yes, I shot someone." She answered.

The man fell heavily on the ground, a surprised look on his face. She hid the body, rolling it under the truck and she gathered the cartridge case and his gun. She couldn't risk being caught or hurt or eliminated. She walked carefully towards the open truck and flattened herself under it when another man showed up saying:

"Hey, Igor what is going on? " As no answer came the man walked along the truck searching for 'Igor'. She let him pass her and she rolled from under the truck. She stood up and she groaned to make him turn toward her:

"He is gone." She shot one in the forehead as for 'Igor'. She rolled the body under the truck and she gathered the cartridge case and the gun.

"I shot someone else ." She informed Finch.

She forwarded to the back of the truck from where the two men went out. They were here, their wrists and ankles were tied to the benches with plastic through-joints that had cut into their flesh. Their mouths were bound by a scratch. Their faces were swollen, they had been severely beaten.

"Harold, I got them. They are alive but hurt." She whispered to Finch.

She cut their ties with the dagger and removed the scratch from their mouths. John frowned when he smelled the fragrance of Lisa.

"Lisa, what do you do here?" John stuttered with a bloody mouth, his lips were split and blue, one of his eyes was closed and his eyebrow arch open, his cheekbones were bleeding and his shirt was soaked with blood that had run down his right hand.

"Later, can you stand up, John? Shameen, can you get up?" She asked softly.

Shaw was almost in a semi-consciousness but willing to help herself to stand up. John tried to support her but he was so weak, his right arm dangled along his side.

"We need to get out of here, John. Come out the truck, I gonna help you." She whispered, frowning.

She looked around, the way was free. She helped him to come out the truck, supporting his weight on her shoulders. She entered in the truck and pushed Shameen toward the edge, John helped Shameen with his valid arm to come out the truck. She was in a very bad shape, as she was drugged. Lisa and John almost dragged her toward the entrance portal.

"You can't climb over the fence. We must force the portal." John pushed on the handle, the portal opened.

"When I came in, it was locked." She said with surprise.

They were about to exit when a voice shouted at them to stop. A man was aiming at them with a gun. Lisa jumped in front of John and aimed at the man. They fired at the same time. Her bullet hit him in the head. She felt a pang that burst between her breasts. The impact of the bullet in the bulletproof vest threw her off balance. She fell backward on her back and gripped her chest as to push her clothes away.

"Lisa, Lisa," John shouted in panic, kneeling beside her, holding her head.

"It's hurt." She screamed in a strangled voice.

"Lisa, where are you hurt?" John asked, ripping her jacket and her tee-shirt with his valid hand.

"I wear your bulletproof vest, but it's hurt a lot." She said, breathless.

John was relieved that she thought to wear his bulletproof vest but she might have bruised ribs. He helped her to stand up and the three forwarded to the street. Finch had driven the car in front of the parking to collect them. He helped them to install into the car and he pulled away at breakneck speed.

"We need to bring you two to the hospital." Lisa said, removing her ski mask and breathing painfully.

"No hospital." John sighed in pain.

John looked at her with thinned lips though his mouth had been hurt by so hard blows then he gave a deadly look at Finch in the rear-view mirror. Meeting his eyes Finch understood that John was furious that Lisa rescued them, that John held him accountable for the choice to send her into a minefield. He was waiting for the anger of John toward him and he was ready to assume what the Machine decided. Finally, Lisa saved them. John and Shameen were alive and Lisa wasn't hurt.

"How are you, Lisa?" Harold whispered to her.

"Harold, hopefully, I found them easily, I have only had to solve three problems. I thank myself to pick up the silencer. They were armed. I couldn't do differently." She murmured to him with noisy breaths.

Finch swallowed hard hearing her confession. He understood that she had killed three guys. She had been a soldier and she was unflinching as Ms. Shaw. He looked up in the rear-view mirror and he crossed the fixed deadly gaze of John. He had certainly heard all that she said.

John heard what Lisa murmured to Finch. He had also heard the muffled sound of two gunshots with a silencer in the night before she had reached their truck. She had killed the guys before they killed her. She had pulled herself as a shield in front of him, to protect him with her body. She had acted as a soldier in a mission, a lone soldier with no one to have her back, enemies stood in front of her and she left no threat behind her. Before that, he had already noticed she had just a little scar on the left shoulder, perhaps a dagger cut or a bullet graze, she had never been hurt by a bullet in her mass though she operated on a war land, she was good at what she did. She never boasted about anything, she even claimed that she wanted a normal life with a family.

Now Finch had plunged her again into a violent world, where bad people would put an end to her joy and ruin her hope. Yes, she saved them but the price would be high, higher than the price of his own life. She killed to save them. She would lose a part of herself, one more part, the part that would matter the most. New nightmares will eat her nights, sobs and trembles will replace sighs of a peaceful rest.  
But he would be there to hold her tightly in his arms and to wake her, he would be there to chase the shades of her mind and to bring her again into the light. Tears shed from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Shameen mumbled, resting her head on the shoulder of John. He grimaced under the pain that she caused, weighing on his hurt arm.

Lisa turned and gazed at John, she saw his tears and Shaw sprawled on his hurt arm.

"Please, Harold, stop." She commanded with a tired voice.

Finch stopped the car and she came out to climb on the back seat beside Shaw, taking her in her arms and pulling her head on her shoulder. She smiled at John with softness. He looked at her then at the window and he closed his eyes.  
After forty minutes they arrived at Baxter Street. John came out of the car with difficulties.

"I will take care of Ms. Shaw at the library. Take care of John, Lisa." Finch said to Lisa with a concerned look.

"No, Shameen stays with us, she needs some medicine and a shower. Just help me to lead them to the home." Lisa answered, looking at John who was staggering dangerously.

Finch nodded and he supported Shameen with one arm around her waist while Lisa helped John to walk toward the elevator though her chest was painful. They arrived in front of the door and opened it. They entered and they sat John on the couch. Tears didn't stop to shed silently from his eyes.

"John,.." Finch began to speak.

"Never do that again." John cut him off with a reedy voice.

During that time, Lisa led Shameen to the bathroom and she undressed her to shower. Shameen was half-sleeping and she smelled alcohol mixed with an anesthetic product, her arms and her breast were bruised. Lisa undressed too, keeping her underwear, making abstraction of her own pain. She washed Shameen with softness, from head to toes, she shampooed her hair and she cleaned her body with a perfumed soap. Then she rinsed her and she dried her. She sat her on the shower stool and she did her hair. She massaged the bruises with an Arnica ointment. Then she dressed her with a long teeshirt of John and a panty of her. Lisa dressed in her bathrobe. She lifted Shameen up the stool and she led her to sit on the couch. She strode to the fridge and came back with bottles of water. She gave one to John and Finch and she helped Shameen to drink a glass of water. Shameen tried to open her eyes without success and she drank a few swallows of water. She squeezed Lisa's hand as to thank her.

"Please, John, come on and sit in the armchair." She said softly to him, helping him to stand up and to sit in the armchair.

She laid Shameen on the couch, her head on a pillow, and she covered her with a blanket. Finch was watching how Lisa was busy around them without resting, grimacing sometimes.

"John, come on in the bathroom to shower, then I will patch you. Harold, you can go. Thanks for all. Call you tomorrow. Goodnight and thank you."

"Goodnight." Harold said and he walked to the door with a heavy heart.

John got up painfully and he walked slowly toward the bathroom, leaning on Lisa's shoulders. In the bathroom, she undressed him and she took off her night robe. His right arm had a large cut in the biceps but the bleeding had stopped. She opened the water on warm and she pushed him gently under the spray. As for Shameen, she shampooed his hair and she washed his body everywhere. His back and chest were bruised, his fingers too, his lips split and his eyes shut. A cut on his cheekbone bled under the water. When she washed his chest, he grimaced in pain. He had cracked ribs. She cried seeing him in such a pain, thank the water to hide her tears. She rinsed and dried him carefully, then she helped him to wear his pajamas and she led him into the armchair bringing with her the First Aid Kit. She stood in front of him, between his spread legs, to take care of his wounds.

She cleaned the cuts on his face and on his wrists with a disinfectant that made him hiss. She blew on them to alleviate the prickly sensation. She put a healing onguent on them and she lightly massaged to make it penetrate. Then she disinfected the large cut on his biceps. The lips of the cut were open and needed stitching. She took a needle and she put the chirurgical thread in the hole of it.

"I am going to sew, forgive me, my love." She claimed with a poor chastened smirk.

She conscientiously sewed one stitch at a time, every one centimeter, with a simple little knot to close it. His lips thinned when the needle entered his flesh but he didn't make any complaint. He was hard at the pain.  
Concentrated on her chirurgical duty, she didn't notice that John was gazing at her fingers working on his arm through his half-closed eyes. She applied and followed what she learned during her training in the army, it was not the first time she experienced sewing a wound. She did it on comrades in Afghanistan after they were shot by a Taliban. The stitches done, she put the same healing onguent that she softly massaged on and around the stitches then a gauze that she fixed with a plaster. As for Shameen, she softly massaged the bruises on his chest and his back with the Arnica Ointment. She gave him two antibiotic pills with water to contain a potential infection and two pain-killer pills to alleviate the pain.

"Done. Do you want to eat something?" She murmured, kissing his hair.

John shook his head negatively. Then he snaked his valid arm around her hips and he pulled her on his lap. He leaned his head on her shoulder, he lightly kissed the hollow of her neck and he stayed there unmoving. She rolled her arms around his head and she softly kissed his forehead. After a few minutes she breathed:

"Time to rest, let go to bed." She stood up and helped him to walk toward their bed.

She opened the comforter, he sat on the edge of the bed and he laid on his back. She took his legs and she pushed them on the bed then she covered him with the comforter. She checked on Shameen that was sleeping and she wondered how she would react when she will awake tomorrow. She locked the door and she switched off the lights. She went to the bathroom to undress completely and she wore her pajamas. A purple bruise covered the scarab tattoo between her breasts. When she entered under the comforter, John was deeply asleep, a little snore chanted in his nose. She cuddled against him, taking care to not cause pain to his battered body and she let her tears flow out freely.  
She checked on Shameen and John all the night, sleeping an hour here and there.

* * *

When the morning arrived, she was exhausted by her sleepless night. She looked at John that was still sleeping. She kissed the corner of his mouth and his ear that made him moan. He opened one eye and rolled his valid arm around her neck, pulling her head above his.

"Kiss me, my love." He demanded to her. She softly brushed her lips against his.

"You can do it better." He insisted while he opened his mouth and gave her a passionate kiss.

"You are hurt." She said in his mouth.

"I'm fine." He replied while his hand slid from her neck all over her back and her behind.

With regrets, she broke the kiss and she got off the bed.

"I am going to prepare a giant breakfast for you and Shameen, you may be hungry." She said.

"Yes, I would eat a cow, this morning." He answered with a smile.

She strode to the kitchen and prepared a big pot of coffee, scrambled eggs, bacon, French thin pancakes, boiled eggs, jam, yogurt, fruit juice.

Shameen was awaked and she followed all moves of Lisa through her half-closed eyes. She heard Reese begging her for a kiss and she was disappointed this came to a sudden end. She was admiring Lisa's body in her pajamas and robe and thought that Reese didn't get bored with her. As she felt she was watched, Lisa walked toward Shameen and she asked her softly:

"How do you feel this morning, Shameen?"

"Better than yesterday. I'm hungry and I want a steak with the breakfast. I thank you to save my life, Lisa, I owe you one." She answered and she kissed Lisa on her cheek.

"You're welcome. Stay on the couch, I bring you the breakfast."

"How is Reese?" Shaw demanded.

"A little better." Lisa replied.

"He took more blows than me because he focused attention on him." Shaw sighed.

Lisa prepared two trays with breakfast and coffee. She served Shameen then she strode toward the bedroom to serve John. He sat on the bed, a little grimace thinned his mouth and he put the tray on his thighs. He ate with appetite and even asked for more eggs and bacon. She returned to the kitchen and she cooked for John and she roasted the steak for Shameen. Shameen devoured the steak like an ogress, the grease ran on her chin when she bit the meat, she sucked her fingers. Lisa brought back eggs and bacon to John with a milked coffee for her.

"How is Shaw, this morning?" John demanded between two mouthfuls.

"Oh my God, she is well, she eats like a famished baby, fingers in the mouth and all." Lisa said, containing a laughter.

"Food is one of her priority." John replied.

She took a sip of her milked coffee. John fed her with some eggs and kissed her.

"You saved my life, Lisa. You risked your life for me, I never imagined that could happen." John murmured with admiration.

"We are even, now. I can steal your job and your suit." She laughed merrily.

"No way, you already have a job, my beautiful manager, and you have a man to care about." He answered while he pushed the tray away and clasped her with his valid arm. She laid on his side and they kissed till to be breathless. He was moaning with delight in her mouth when she broke the kiss.

"Sshh, we are not alone, and you are not in shape to be agitated like that. Your body has been battered so hard." She murmured.

"I lived worse. I'm not agitated, I love you so much." John caressed her shoulders.

"Hey, you two, I take a shower, can I?" Shameen yelled.

"Yes, you can." Lisa said, jumping off the bed and exiting the bedroom.

"Hey, yesterday he was about to eat his birth certificate and this morning he is jumping you like a wild horse." Shameen whispered to Lisa.

"Oh no, no, he is not jumping me, he is agitated because he must stay in the bed." Lisa stuttered.

"What I said." Shameen replied with a sardonic tone.

"I shower and I go, can you lend me something to wear, a jean, teeshirt and shoes? My dress is kaput." Shaw demanded.

"Sure." Lisa searched in her clothes and she came back with a complete change for Shameen.

"Thanks." Shameen said.

She showered then she dressed in Lisa's clothes that suited her well. She asked for some money to take a cab then she went into the bedroom to say goodbye to Reese:

"How are you, Reese? Shaw demanded.

"I'm fine, just some sore muscles." He replied, raising his brows.

"She is not your girl, my ass! See you at the library when you finish your bucking." She murmured with a wink and a little smile.

Lisa saw Shameen at the door.

"Reese is weak even if he doesn't show it. Keep him one day to rest in bed. Thank you, Lisa." Shameen left, shaking her head.

"Goodbye, Shameen, take care of you." Lisa replied.

When Lisa came back to the bedroom, John was asleep. She covered him with the comforter and she carried the tray back to the kitchen. She made the dishes and she cleaned all the home. Then she dialed Finch.

"Good morning Harold, how are you?" She asked.

"Good morning, Lisa. Fine, and you? How are John and Ms. Shaw?" Finch demanded with concern.

"Shameen had bruises on her body but this morning she ate her breakfast with a good appetite. She just left now. John fell asleep again after a huge breakfast. His body has been hardly battered. Bruises cover his chest and his back. His right arm has been hurt with a dagger. How can he endure this again and again?" She complained firmly.

"Lisa, I thank you to take care of Ms. Shaw and John. John must recover and rest for a few days. He comes back when he wants."

"Harold, John just lived a near-death experience, he might die the next time. He takes bullets and blows as we suck a candy."

"Lisa, when I met John, he was near to say goodbye to the world. I offered him a purpose, a job. I never said it would be easy. I told him that sooner or later both of us will probably wind up dead. This job changed his life and saving people became his principal focus. He spends all his energy on his missions, all his life is dedicated to being a savior, a hero. Nevertheless, he knows that he is always living on borrowed time." Finch murmured with fervor.

"How many have you worn out before him? John is not expendable, he is a human, not a machine. He is precious and rare, I told you that yesterday." She shouted in anger.

"John is my friend. I don't intend to retain him. He is free to work with me or to leave, Lisa."

"He loves me and I love him. I want he stays alive, out of danger, no more bullets whistling around him or hurting him. He needs to appreciate the true life, without looking over his shoulder, without watching through the door or the windows. I have a lot of things to offer to him. I think he will accept them out of this scenario of saving-the-world. When my case is solved, please, Harold, give him a sabbatical leave to learn and live the normal life he never had because he was scared to lose people he loved. Then, he will be free to choose his own path."

Lisa ended her defense speech with emotion and unshed tears. Harold hawked and agreed with her.

"If John agrees, I'm glad for you, Lisa." He sighed.

"Thank you, Harold, we both want him to be happy and to free himself of these duties." She exhaled.

"Your case isn't yet solved, Lisa. There are some points to clear, I hope that it will end soon."

"Harold, you are a very good person with a warm heart. If I can help with anything, let me know."

"I appreciate, Lisa. Give John my respects and hopes he is up soon. Goodbye, Lisa."

"Goodbye, Harold."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated. Your ideas are welcomed to feed this story. John and Shameen are safe. Lisa and Harold are 'fighting' for John's sake. You know John, he is stubborn and gets into trouble easily.


	14. Chapter 14 New Lines

John and Lisa are connected through their common principles and their intense feelings. New lines show up and are drawn that are going to lead them to move in their own direction. Although you don't experience John Reese in love in such a way, he is a man, not an ordinary man but he is a man. All the love scenes I write are only to consolidate the strong bond they both have. I think that when love is pure and natural, nothing is more beautiful to live it in depth with some craziness.

Warning: love scene at the beginning of this chapter. If you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 14

After the conversation, she had with Finch, sadness, and guilt engulfed Lisa. She couldn't resist the submersion of conflicting feelings: she loved John and she was happy with him but the fact that he put his life on the line to help others highly perturbed her. She was always scared that all this ended his life. He was endlessly in the war with the evil as he was hunting down his own demons and sins. Harold gave him fuel to quench his thirst for justice and to regain hope and a part of humanity he lost when he was a CIA agent. She understood that Harold saved John giving him a job and a purpose. Like a brave warrior, John continued fighting the bad people, he continued fighting himself.

He opened up to her about his past to push her away from him, to scare her. She remembered the sharpness of his mind when he pronounced words to oust her out of his life. She had sensed that he was falling for her and he was scared of that feeling. He had moved her, emotions he had woken in her were not under her self-control, that was the reason why they have been drowned together in a passionate storm. Their loving embraces, their magnificent and extraordinary unions gave birth to love. Today she loved him more than her life and he did the same way.

She thought if she went back to her country, if she let her company to be managed by a third person, she could alleviate the weight on John's shoulders and keep him alive longer. But she wasn't determined to break with him, he would suffer, she didn't want him to suffer. So, she was going to protect him whatever the cost, in the shadow, like a guardian angel.

She showered and dressed. Then she cooked the lunch in case John woke up and was hungry.  
She forwarded to the bedroom and she checked on the cut on his biceps. The wound was clean and healing. She sat on the edge of the bed and she looked at his beautiful and calm face for a long time. Tears sparkled in her eyes that she tried to keep back. How long would this last?

She got up when John grasped her forearm.

"Please, stay here, my love. I needed you, you know. Don't leave me." He murmured as he read in her thoughts.

"I'm here, John, you are not alone, I would stay at your side, always." She replied softly.

He rolled his arms around her back and he enticed her on his side. He gave her a full and burning kiss that turned her neurons down. His hands searched for her breasts under her blouse and massaged them softly.

"Lisa, I need you, you don't know how. Three days without touching you, I can't. I was near to lose you, you may have been killed, my love. This is unbearable." He breathed with shining eyes and wet eyelashes while his lips covered her face with kisses.

"John, you are weak, this is not appropriate to.."

"Yes, it is, I'm fine and I gonna prove you." He sighed while he was undressing her, removing her jeans, her panty, her tee-shirt and her bra. He removed his pajamas and undershirt and laid his body on top of her.

"John, John, I missed you, I love you so much, I can't lose you, I need you too." She whispered, pressing her body against his, spreading her legs.

He lightly kissed the bruise between her breasts and he entered her slowly, moaning his pleasure to possess her after a so long wait. His bruised ribs reminded him to not lean on them, so he loomed over her without pressing his body on her, leaning on his forearms and his knees. He rolled his left arm under her lower back to lift it up and to increase the strength of his thrusts. She followed his strokes one by one and she bounced her hips into his to give her own strength to their loving embrace. He thrust into her again and again, hitting her G spot nonstop. Soon, she felt the fire devour her core and she called him:

"John, John."

"Yes, I'm coming with you, I can't wait, my love." He sighed.

Their orgasms exploded together with emotions and shouts of their names.

"Lisa, love you, love you." He kissed her hungrily.

"Joohnn." She cried, at the end of her life.

There were out of breath and stared at each other, they slowly landed on Earth.

"John, are you okay?" She demanded, stroking his face.

"Yes, I'm ready for another round in five minutes." He smiled.

* * *

The day after, John wished to go to work. On his way, he stopped at the coffee shop to buy the beverages for the team. He arrived at the library, resolute to speak to Finch about their rescue. Shaw was not yet here.

"Good morning, Finch." John greeted, handing him his Sencha green tea.

"Good morning, Mr. Reese, thanks. I didn't mind to see you before a few days. How do you feel?" Finch asked, turning his body face of him.

"I'm fine. We need to talk, Finch." John commanded dryly.

"I know." Finch replied, sighing and waiting for the collision.

"What did occur in your mind to use Lisa like she was a team member to help Shaw and me?" John quietly asked, leaning his hands on the table where Finch was sitting at.

"John, I used all the means I had without success. The Detectives were out of town. Finally, the Machine revealed where you were and told to send Ms. Adrian to rescue you." Finch stuttered, impressed by the apparent calm of John.

"She might have been killed. A bullet hit her in her chest, the bulletproof vest protected her, but it might have hit her in the head. You didn't have to do this." John shouted in anger.

"John, I couldn't let you without attempting something. Lisa didn't hesitate one second and she was determined to rescue both of you. The machine said that She would help her." Finch defended.

"Finch, next time, better let me die than expose her to a risky situation. She is wanted and vulnerable. You got it?" John's lips thinned with the angst.

"You are all safe, that is important to me, you are my friends. Ms. Adrian showed high-mindedness and a true skill in wearing the role of a savior." Finch pleaded.

"She killed three guys, Finch. She killed three guys without mercy. This is destructive, I know what this is about, Finch." John spoke clearly, poking his index on the table.

Shaw arrived at the library, she heard the last words, she had no doubts about the subject of the confrontation.

"Good morning you two. How are you, Reese?" She said, taking her coffee.

"I am fine, and you?" John asked with concern, straightening up.

"Yeah, me too. How is our Lara Croft? She really impressed me. We could get her on our team, I'm sure that kneecapping would be a piece of cake to her." Shaw dropped the bomb, looking at Finch.

"No way, you understand, no way she works with us." John turned to face Finch then Shaw with a deadly look.

"This has never been an option, John." Finch said softly.

"Keep it always like that." John replied, gritting his teeth.

"A new number, just now." Finch announced. To his great relief, this ended the heavy clash.

The printer printed the image of the number. Finch pinned it on the glass wall and turned to John and Shaw.

"Someone we know, James O'Neil!" Finch kept an emotionless face, hiding his surprise and discomfort.

"I wondered how he did to be a victim or a perp. I am going to take care of him." John said without the slightest hesitation.

"Wait, I go with you." Shaw said.

"No, I call you if I need." John commanded firmly.

John took the post-it that Finch handed him and he exited the library.

"What's up with him?" Shaw asked Finch.

Finch shrugged in desperation. He hoped that John wouldn't get into trouble one more time, he had been hurt and hadn't completely recovered. This new person of interest was an old army comrade of Ms. Adrian, an ancient Special Forces member that was to say someone skilled.

"John is angry and angsty, Ms. Shaw." Harold said sadly.

"We were lucky that Lara Croft saved us. Reese's girl is tough, I didn't mind it and sure him either. Nevertheless, it's the first time he denied me to be his backup. It's unusual. Does he have the interest to work it alone?" she demanded curiously.

"I don't know, Ms. Shaw." Finch knew that Lisa had had a short affair with O'Neil but he expected John to be objective in his mission.

Shaw was mortified to be left apart and wondered why John acted like that. She wanted to follow in his steps but Finch reminded her to trust John. It was the base of their partnership.

* * *

John was staking out O'Neil in front of his home for one hour when he saw him to come out and to enter his car. He tailed him to his destination that was an isolated pavilion in lower Manhattan. He entered the house as he was at his home. John exited his car and came close to the door. He heard muffled sounds against the wall and moans that didn't let any doubts about what was happening right now. O'Neil was banging a woman against the wall and she was willing and participating in this. This bastard was cheating on his wife and he disrespected his entire family. John was about to neglect him to his fate so he was disgusted by him. He had a wife, two children and he was betraying all that.

Suddenly, a car stopped in front of the pavilion. A man surged in a hurry, a hand in his pocket, tightening something. John thought that the man was the husband and that he was involved in an act of revenge, he was ready to intervene even if he disliked O'Neil. He hid behind a hedge, letting the man enter the house. He followed him into the hall and stopped when the man climbed upstairs. They could hear the loud moans of the lovers filling the space, then the crazy cries of the woman when she came. In a flash, John visioned Lisa and O'Neil sex connected and burst in pleasure. It hit him in his heart, even if it was a few years ago when he didn't know Lisa's existence.

The man climbed softly the stairs and ejected his colt from his pocket. John followed him upstairs and stilled when the man stood behind the door. He silently walked behind him, he immobilized him and disarmed him.

"You don't deserve to end in jail because of this bastard. Believe me, he is not worth a red cent. Your wife has been swindled. You can foil them if you want but don't attempt to their lives." John murmured with sincerity.

The man looked up at John surprisingly and nodded. He opened the door of the bedroom and entered. John stood in the hallway, near the door, he heard the husband that insulted and ousted O'Neil off from the bed. John ran down the stairs and stood near his car. When O'Neil came out of the house, he went straight to him. John was savoring the defeat of O'Neil that glanced at him with a black look.

"Why do you sneak in my business?" O'Neil asked in a bad mood.

"I prevented a jealous husband to kill you. But it was not a humanitarian purpose." John blurted out.

"Yeah, I remember you. You were at the Mayor's party two weeks ago. You danced with the Riviere enterprise's heiress, Ms. Elisabeth Adrian. You seemed very close. Did she trap you?" O'Neil said in an obscure tone.

John was shocked and didn't answer.

"Yes, I see, she did. I hope you gonna suffer as strong as she did to me. She turned you upside down when you tasted her little girl's pussy, hum. I know her, she is a hot lover, I experienced her a few years ago." O'Neil hissed, smiling devilishly.

John approached him, face to face, chest against chest, eyes into eyes, measuring his powerful frame with his. They were tall even, but John's shoulders were larger. John icily murmured, breathing over O'Neil's face:

"Stop speaking like that about her. You didn't deserve her. You acted with her like an asshole. You don't even change your habits. You just betrayed your family."

"You don't deserve her neither. I wonder what she finds in you." Jealousy contorted O'Neil's face.

"If you were in her shoes, you would get the answer." John said, looking O'Neil straight in the eyes.

"We will see again sooner." O'Neil stuttered, moving backward and turning to enter his car.

"Mr. Reese, are you okay?" Finch demanded.

"Yeah, Finch. O'Neil can't say likewise. He had sex with the wife of his employer, I convinced the husband to let down the revenge. Then I gave O'Neil some tips on how to be correct with women." John reported to Finch.

Finch heard the words between John and O'Neil about Lisa. John almost lost his nerves with O'Neil. He saved him but he got an enemy, this was bad for him, bad for them. It was John, the warm-hearted, the loving lover, always on the line for people he loved. Finch envied him to live such a deep feeling with this stunning woman, he was relieved that John wasn't anymore alone, that he had a life outside the work but he was doing too much, he needed to slow down a bit. Lisa was beautiful, attractive, intelligent, skilled and John liked all that in her. Finch had judged in a few minutes the influence that she exerted on him. He didn't even wonder how it might be explosive in the bed. Finch blushed at this naughty thought he had about them. John was more open and he felt happy, Finch was grateful to Lisa to change him.

"John, no number today. We have to work on Lisa's case. I wait for you at the library." Finch said.

John came back to the library. Finch asked him about the Tatiana nightclub.

"John, when you went to the Tatiana nightclub, what was your purpose? Had you learn something about the case we are working on?"

"When we were at Kimsky's home, the business card I found on the Russian led me there. At first sight, I had no idea about what I gonna find or learn. I visioned that it was a place where mobsters held a sort of meetings and adjusted their strikes. Finally, after our capture I can say that the loss of the money was the nerve of the war between the Russians and Elias, I hope that Lisa will cease to be their principal target."

"We are not sure that they will lose interest in Riviere enterprise. Cutting down Gorback and Kimsky is an excellent score for us. Now we need to approach Elias to know his intentions."

"Can you manage a meeting for me with him?" John demanded.

"I will call Elias. Sure he will want you to come alone and unarmed."

Later, in the evening, surrounded by his men, Elias met John at Brooklyn Bridge Park Pebble Beach. Marconi frisked John and nodded at Elias.

"John, so what do I owe this visit from you?" Elias demanded with a smile.

"Elias, it's been a while." John replied, looking at the men around.

"I have nothing to hide, John, we can speak openly." Elias said.

"Well, I wish to know if you have a sight on the Riviere enterprise?" John asked with a detached tone.

"Why, have you some?" Elias tackled softly.

"We are protecting a person whose the interest is the growth of this firm because she is the owner. It appeared that this company is faced with money laundering from the Russian mob. Do you intend to steal this business to the Russians?" John insisted.

"I'm only doing what I think is best for the city." Elias preached.

"So you're gonna kill everyone who gets in the way?" John questioned with an icy voice.

"We're more alike than you'd like to admit. Both killers in our own right. But now you save innocent people like Charlie Burton, not old gangsters. Just leave those men to me." Elias was smiling slightly.

"You know I can't do that." John warned him.

"I can't say I'm surprised." Elias shrugged.

"What about the enterprise I mentioned, and the owner we are protecting?" John reminded Elias.

"I owe you one, John. I will look someplace else." Elias gazed at the sight of Manhattan shapes and lights on the other side of the river.

"I'll thank you for that." John replied with relief.

"I wish you luck, John. If you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours." Elias warned simply.

"What if I don't?" John argued.

"Then we'll meet again under less pleasant circumstances. See you on the other side." Elias turned to leave with his men.

John felt relieved that Elias lost interest in Lisa and the Riviere Company. Finch heard the conversation as he plugged a micro-bug in the shoe of John. John turned to retrieve his car. He drove toward the library to meet Finch.

"John, good, the game is clearer. Elias turned his back to the Riviere enterprise, The Russians have no more people in the place. Elias and the Russians declare war. Ms. Adrian is free to go home." Finch looked up at John that was speechless and worried.

"Something wrong, John?" Finch demanded softly.

"What if the Russians play jokers, Finch?"

"The Russians will not be able to deposit cash because nobody is on the place to spend the dirty money. Lisa will check that this can't happen. " Finch replied.

John was pacing like a caged lion, caressing his chin.

"John, you must let her go free to live her life, you can't lock herself because you are scared to lose her. The threats are known and eliminated for the moment, I agree with that. She has the financial resources to hire a bodyguard or more if necessary; if she is threatened one more time, the Machine will alert us."

"I will be late tomorrow morning, I will give her a ride home." John sighed sadly.

"John, trust me, she is safe and she needs to recover her freedom. She loves you and she admires you. We are going on keep a close watch on her." Finch handed a tracking device to John.

"Finch, I have to go, goodnight." John said.

"Goodnight, John."

* * *

John arrived at his place at 01:00 am. He was tired. His body ached. A node stuck his throat. Angst and fear of losing Lisa were eating him alive. He had to collect himself before opening his door. Beads of sweat dripped on his forehead. He opened his door and entered silently, closing and locking the door. He put his gun on the table, he took off his jacket and hung it on the coat rack. He undressed in the bathroom and showered a long time. He dried with a large towel then he turned off the lights and entered the bedroom. He laid on his back in the bed under the comforter. Lisa was sprawled on her stomach, her head face to him on the pillow, some strands of her hair on her face. John turned on his side and looked at her, without a move. His eyes burned with unshed tears that he held back. He heard her steady breath, he saw her fingers fisting the pillow. He smiled with tenderness and drank all the lines of her face and frame he saw out of the comforter. He had never enough of her and he wondered how his life would be when she will live outside, far from him.  
Soon, his eyes closed and sleep took him.  
In the middle of the night, agitation woke him. Lisa was sobbing in her sleep and she was calling his name. John switched on the night-light and took Lisa in his arms. That was it. The new nightmares that were going to eat her nights, the shades, the sobs, the trembles.

"Sshh.. I'm here, my love, wake up, baby." He murmured, pushing her on her side, holding her tightly against him, freeing her face of her hair.

"John, John, you here." Lisa said, emerging from her sleep.

"I'm here, sweety, stop crying, nobody will hurt you." He whispered, kissing her forehead and caressing her back.

"I dreamt that you were gone..I lost you.." She breathed in his ear.

She rolled her arms around his neck and she kissed him on his mouth with such softness and love that he felt a pang of emotion in his chest. It hurt him like a bullet in his mass. He kissed her back softly and lovingly. Lisa deepened the kiss and their tongues initiated a dance that earned moans from each other, that raced their heart and agitated their bodies.

"John, John, come inside me now, I want to feel you, make love to me." She begged him.

John was as hard as iron when he entered her. He slid slowly into her tight, wet inside till the hilt. She was impatient and she twisted under him to heighten his pleasure. If she continued like that, this wouldn't last long. He calmed her.

"Lisa, stop twisting like that, otherwise this is going to end before it starts." He warned and smiled at her.

He thrust slowly into her, again and again, kissing everywhere on her face, her neck, her shoulders. She was moaning and gasping, caressing his body everywhere. He slipped off of her to mouth her breasts and to nibble her nipples. She did the same to him, caring to not hurt his bruised ribs. He entered her again, sliding in and out, restlessly, always at a slow pace.

"John, my love, I'm not a China China." She murmured, cupping his cheeks in her hands and giving him a burning kiss.

She wanted harder, faster, deeper, so he was going to love her as she wished to be, and he liked it too. He fastened the rhythm, thrusting harder and deeper, his strokes became strong, full of energy. They both felt alive, the flames of their passion consumed their bodies and their brains, their skin was hot and sweating. When the heat of their birthing orgasms burned in their belly, they gripped each other more tightly and they kissed desperately. Their orgasms exploded together, she cried loudly his name when her walls clenched around his cock while he gave her his semen sighing her name in her mouth.

"Lisa, my baby." John panted.

They landed slowly on Earth, murmuring love words. She circled her arms around his head and caressed his lips with her thumb. John mouthed her thumb and sucked it gently.

"You can go home tomorrow, Lisa. Your life is no more in danger." John said.

"Is it true? Oh, my God, I can't believe that." She sat on the bed and she smiled wide at him. She was really happy. She looked up at him and laid down on his side, taking him in a tender embrace.

"Come with me John, I can't live without you."

"We have both our work. We will see as much as possible, honey." John replied, hitching a strand of hair behind her ear.

They made love till the dawn and they drifted into sleep, exhausted and sated.

* * *

In the morning, after breakfast, Lisa packed her things into her suitcases. She was in a mixed mood, content to recover a normal life and sad to live apart John. They came out of the loft and forwarded to the underground parking lot. John put the suitcases in the trunk of his car and he opened the passenger door to Lisa. She sat in the passenger seat and he shut the door. He sat in the driver seat and started the car, he came out of the parking and melted into the city traffic. Lisa admired his stoic profile and his attentive look to the road. She put her hand on his thigh, he covered her hand with his and he intertwined their fingers.

A stress contristed her throat and her lips trembled in pain, she could neither steadily breathe nor swallow. A heavy pain birthed between her breasts and circled her chest and her back, tightening her like in an iron belt, that made her moan and grip hard John's hand. John turned a concerned look at her and demanded:

"Lisa, are you okay?" He immediately parked the car.

"Lisa, what does happen to you?" John asked, cupping her face in his hands.

"Nothing bad, it's a stress in my chest, this will not last. It's hurt but it's not bad." She repeated, showing him the painful point, closing her eyes and breathing lightly through her parted lips. She was overwhelming by the fear to lose him, to live apart from him.

John unbuttoned her blouse and massaged her breastbone during long minutes till the pain faded and stopped. He buttoned her blouse and softly kissed her on her mouth.

"I'm here, my love, always for you, you are my everything, you know." He started the car and pulled again into the traffic. He drove to the Riviere home, Lisa aunt's home in Manhattan Center. They arrived in front of the building, John parked the car in the street and held Lisa in his arms.

"It'll be alright, don't worry. Let go." John consoled her.

John took the suitcases in the trunk and followed Lisa in the hall of the building of five floors. The elevator lifted them up to the fifth floor. Lisa unlocked the door and entered. She closed the door after John came on in. She looked around over the precious furniture and put her bag on a chair. She approached the windows and opened one widely to let the fresh air in the room. John stood behind her, he rolled his arms around her shoulders and put his chin on the top of her head.

"How do you feel to come back home, sweetheart?" He asked softly.

"It's not my home, my home is your loft." She kissed the back of his hand.

"You come when you wish." John replied, sliding a key in her hand.

"Thank you, John. I don't have a spare key, I will do it one, soon."

"It's not a problem." He chuckled.

"This is a nice place but I'm going to change a lot of things to make it according to my style."

"Lisa, take this with you, always." John took a gun in his pocket with ammunition and put it on the table.

"Okay." She said, thinking that she needed one to play his guardian angel.

They kissed passionately. John broke the kiss and tapped his earpiece, always holding Lisa tightly in his arms.

"Good morning, Finch."

"Good morning, Mr. Reese. We have a new number. I send you the information on your phone."

"I'm on my way." John closed the call and kissed Lisa on her forehead.

"Go and save the world, my love." She murmured proudly but brokenhearted. He turned and left the room.

* * *

T hanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated. Lisa begins a new life and John goes on his duty, saving the world. Their feelings have grown quickly and strong despite his line of work and his fears of losing people he cares about. Each one has a direction to follow, each one is scared to lose the other.


	15. Chapter 15 Business Is Business

Life goes on; each one, his own: helping people in a tough situation for John, managing her enterprise for Lisa. Some love scenes at the end, John is so in love...

Warning: love scene at the end of this chapter. If you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 15

After John left her home, Lisa felt completely emptied of energy and lost. She collected herself and reasoned to go on to live for them. He will return soon to see her and say that he loved her more than his life. Her head was filled with him, his caresses, his kisses, his loving embraces, his mind-blowing lovemaking, his body on hers, his mouth and his hands everywhere on her, his blue-grey eyes, his smile, his muscular body, the scars that told so much about him. All her thoughts were aimed at him but she might also think to do something with her life, to work in her enterprise.

She dialed Ilsa.

"Hey, Ilsa, It's Lisa. How are you?"

"Oh, Lisa, how are you? I'm so glad to hear from you. Where are you? What do you do?" Ilsa enumerated joyfully.

"Ilsa, I stay at my aunt's home. All is alright, I'm ready to go to work. I took some rest to visit here and there and now I want to give my best to the Riviere enterprise. How is Mr. Miller?" Lisa replied with enthusiasm.

"Jason works and is waiting for your commitment. He trusts you, Lisa, he says that you are a wonderful person, he is sure that you will boost the Company only by your presence. You have an aura that spreads out and will give the Company a shining image. He has summoned a press conference when you return to upscale your image and plant you as the boss and the general manager."

"Ilsa, I disagree about the press conference, I would talk with Mr. Miller. We will celebrate this event, Ilsa, I like you so much. Nevertheless, I go to work tomorrow morning. Tell to Mr. Miller that we must meet in my office, well, the office he will give me." Lisa said with a laugh.

"Lisa, I like you too so much, tell me if you need something, I'm here to help you with everything." Ilsa replied warmly.

"Thank you, Ilsa. See you soon."

"You're welcome. Bye, Lisa."

While he drove toward the address Finch sent to his phone, John was listening to the conversation on Lisa's phone and he felt relieved that she was opposed to the press conference. The building stood near Manhattan Center, an opulent-looking building that belonged to a financial magnate Simon Bryant.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch dialed him.

"Yeah, Finch. What do you learn about our number?" John asked.

"Mr. Reese, he is the general manager of the Institute of International Finance, the global association of the financial industry, with close to 500 members from 70 countries. IIF members include commercial and investment banks, asset managers, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds, central banks and development banks. Its mission is to support the financial industry in the prudent management of risks; to develop sound industry practices; and to advocate for regulatory, financial and economic policies that are in the broad interests of its members. We have to determine if he deals with problems in IIF or in his private life. He is divorced." Finch reported.

"Finch, really we swim in the banks and investments. Where is Shaw? I can't stake out two places at once. I'm in front of his building for the moment. I will try to enter his home and gather some clues." John replied.

"Ms. Shaw is working a number. When she finished, she will call you." Finch cut the call.

John stayed in his car and watched the building entrance and windows with his field glasses. He noticed people typing a code at the entrance door and he was able to memorize it. He came out of his car and forwarded to the entrance of the building. He typed the code on the panel that made the door beeped and slightly opened. He entered the hall and looked at the board of a list of names. Simon Bryant lived on the last floor. John entered the elevator and lifted up to the top floor. Without any hesitation, he picked the lock of Simon Bryant's home. He silently slid in the hallway, holding the butt of his gun behind his waistband. He visioned a petite black woman who was cleaning the table. When she turned to him, John judged that she was thirteen years old, no more. Her face was exhausted and bruised. She pushed a button on the table and John understood that she alerted somebody about his intrusion. Two hefty guys stormed into the hall and attempted to grasp John and immobilize him. John defended himself, hitting with his fists and his arms. One opponent tried to strangle him by his back but he gave him a hard strike to the liver with his elbow that got him knocked down. The second tried to punch John on his head but failed and John gave him a strike in his mass that cut his breathing and made him fall on his back. The man took his gun to shot John but he was stopped by a kneecap that caused him to scream in pain.  
All this turmoil scared the girl that fled out the home through the floors. John pursued her and succeeded to catch her when she reached the sidewalk.

"Let me go, let me go. Don't touch me." She cried.

"I'm not going to hurt you, listen to me, tell me, what is your name?" John asked softly.

"Lila, Lila Bryant. I'm the daughter of Simon Bryant." The girl replied sobbing.

John was stunned and at the loss when he faced with the girl's identity.

"Come on, I lead you to the police station, my car is just here." John took her forearm gently and led her into his car.

"No, no, not the police." She screamed.

He dialed Finch.

"Finch, we have a problem. In his home, I found a very young girl, that seemed extremely tired and beaten. She was scared and warned help when she saw me. I get her in my car and she says that she is Bryant's daughter."

"Mr. Reese, Mr. Bryant has no children. This seems like a case of modern slavery. This girl may be used as a sexual object among other things. We must protect her in a safe house and call the Detectives to question her. I think that Detective Carter is the most appropriate to speak with her. If Mr. Bryant retrieves her he will shut her mouth to keep his image clean. I wait for you at the safe house in the Midtown, you know where it is."

"I'm on my way." John cut the call.

Lila was crying.

"Don't be afraid, Lila, I drive you to a safe place where nobody will harm you, okay?" John softly explained to her.

She nodded, still crying, John pulled away in the traffic toward the safe house in Midtown. Finch was waiting for them in the hall. The elevator lifted them to the second floor. No need to hide, Finch had bought the entire building only for the purpose to protect the numbers that needed to be in hiding. They entered the safe house and locked the door. Lila looked at Finch and John with frightened eyes, her lips were trembling and she twisted her hands. Finch explained that she was safe here, that they were protecting her. Finch dialed Detective Carter.

"Detective Carter." Joss snarled.

"Hello, Detective, glad to hear you." Finch friendly greeted.

"Harold, I'm tired to clean the mess that John spreads everywhere he walks, you know. Two guys out in the home of a well known financial high manager, whose one will be life-handicapped. Without taking into account all the paperwork that he causes with all this trouble today." Joss yelled on the phone.

Finch has moved aside the phone from his ear so much she shouted angrily.

"Joss, we discovered in Mr. Bryant's home a young black girl, tired, abused and scared that we keep in a safe place. It will be kind of you to come and speak with her as we are perhaps facing a case of modern slavery. You imagine what this implies, it's very delicate for us to question her on some things, we think that you are the right person to lead the questioning."

"Who is she?" Joss asked calmly.

"She is a thirteen years teenager. She told us that she is Bryant's daughter but she lies, Mr. Bryant has no children. She may be an illegal immigrant."

"Okay. I'm coming. Send me the address." Joss replied, worried about the teenager.

"Thank you, Joss."

Finch sent the address to Joss and closed the call. He looked up at John who shrugged and smirked.

"What? I couldn't let the two guys beat me without a move. I did what I thought it was right. You hired me to act on the ground." John defended.

"Mr. Reese, you winded Joss up, I fear that she loses her nerves." Finch smiled.

"She is hot-blooded, she is explosive, I like it. She does a good score in her precinct." John said.

"Mr. Reese, I don't know if she is going to appreciate your praises today." Finch murmured.

"She likes me a little even if I put trouble everywhere, otherwise she wouldn't stake out with me." John whispered shyly.

A few time later, a knock on the door signaled that Joss arrived. Finch opened the door and let Joss come on in. She looked at John and frowned. He looked at her with a gentle smile. She took a deep breath but she said nothing ... for the moment.  
Finch introduced the teenager to Joss and he explained to Lila that she could speak openly to her. Joss led her to a room that seemed to be a little office and she closed the door. They stayed there for one hour to discuss.

When Joss came out of the room she was completely undone. The teenager has unwrapped all, from the moment when Simon Bryant bought her to her parents in Kenya where he stayed on a safari to the moment where she traveled hidden in a big trunk on the flight, then in a car, to reach his home. She never went outside of his home. He used her as a servant all day, as a punching ball when he was angry, he raped her every night, many times a night. He menaced her to death if she opened her mouth about what she endured. Joss was horrified by the inhuman behavior of Bryant. What this girl endured was beyond all she could imagine, and from a man whose the social status didn't let suspect he committed so horrible acts. She related all to Finch and John and told them that she convinced the girl to do a legal statement to incriminate and jail Simon Bryant. She promised Lila to have a host family, to go to school in the waiting of the trial. Then she would be free to return to Kenya with her parents or to stay in the USA with the help of the government.

"I must accompany her to the precinct for the deposition, then to the hospital for a check-up. She complains that she is sore in her belly. I have to get an arrest warrant." Joss swallowed hard.

"If you need help, Joss, just ask." John said sadly.

"You did what was right, John, even though you annoy me sometimes." She replied, rolling her eyes and squeezing his arm.

John winked at Finch who tilted his head. Joss went into the room and came out with the teenager. The girl felt relieved and confident. Joss rolled her arm around her shoulders and walked her toward the door. The girl turned and looked at John, she freed herself from Joss's arm and ran toward John. She snaked her arms around his waist and thanked him with tearing eyes.

"You saved me, Sir, I will never forget you." She mumbled in his jacket.

John was moved and caressed the top of her head before she returned toward Joss. They came out of the safe house.

Joss accomplished a great job. Simon Bryant was arrested at his home and he was taken into custody. Pieces of evidence made that he was charged with illegal entry of an immigrant on the US territory, with sequestration, with mistreatment, with sexual abuse, with death threats, all these charges about a minor. TV reportages and newspapers made a splash with his dark and gloomy feats. He ended at Rikers to wait for his trial.

* * *

Lisa was watching the news on TV in the evening and couldn't help herself to think that John was involved in the black little girl case. She was proud of him to bring the truth about poor suffering people and naughty rich and inaccessible persons. She admired him and loved him more and more. But she worried for his life, he thought he was invincible and she was scared he ended dead a day. This ate her days and her joy. She loved him so deeply that she wanted him all for her. She knew that he couldn't live without saving lives, without putting his own life on the line for people in need, without risking all to be a hero. Tears filled her eyes but she held them back.

The morning after she was ready to go to work. She did her usual workout, she showered and dressed in a black dress and white jacket. She went out of her home to have breakfast in a large bar restaurant down her building. She ordered a European breakfast and ate all as it was delicious. The chief congratulated her as he was aware of her position of high manager in the Riviere enterprise and she told him that he must be prepared to welcome her personal in his large establishment to celebrate an event. She told him that two hundred persons might be present, so he would have to open the space to welcome them. She was able to pay him a huge of money for this event so she was waiting for his efforts. The chief was over the moon that such a godsend arrived at him. He assured to do his best to satisfy her. They saluted as good friends and she went out of the bar.

She arrived at Riviere Company with a burst of pride. She began to understand that her fate tended to continue the family will. She intended to strengthen the image of her enterprise because her mother and her aunt were linked together by the love and the need to protect each other. She felt proud to be the heiress of such a lovely family even she wasn't aware of all the cogs.  
Mr. Miller was waiting for her in the hall. He hugged her warmly, she was moved by the run of friendship he proved toward her. He led her to her office, that was the office of her aunt, a large flat, with leather couches and armchairs, a large precious wooden desk, a bathroom, a bedroom, a kitchen, that is to say, a large modern flat with all utilities. She was surprised about such a spectacular office, but Mr. Miller said that a top manager needed to be cajoled as he had to work more than his employees, to stay later at work, and to be able to eat and sleep here sometimes.  
She sat in the armchair in front of the desk. She started the computer and waited for the login, password window. Mr. Miller handed her a post-it with the information and told her that she could change the password when she wanted. She logged in. Then she invited Mr. Miller to sit and she spoke with him.  
First, she thanked him to drive the Company when she was 'resting'. Second, she told him that she will not assist to the press conference, but he could attend it himself. Third, she thought that the image of the enterprise might be carried all around New York with a publicity campaign on buses, on billboards, on newspapers, on TV. She was ready to invest herself personally in this campaign, that is to say, that she would take the job entirely on her own. Mr. Miller was excited and in awe and he pressed her to implement as soon as possible her fantastic idea. He thought that his boss was a genius, she was young, new, and full of inspiration; he liked it.  
Fourthly, she spoke about the hiring of new people. She wished to encounter all the people that wanted to work for her company. She wished that a character check must be driven by each potential employee, especially a deep inquiry into sensitive jobs that required confidentiality and autonomy.  
Fifth, she addressed the problem of the investments in the foreign countries that her aunt done in the past. She said that these investments might cease, they were onerous and didn't serve the Company. She wanted to be informed 'each day' about the accounts of the Company. Sixth, she told him that the communication in the enterprise was a success key, that this communication might go beyond the first circle of managers and slide toward the base. Monthly meetings would be established with all the working persons.  
Seventh, she intended to give a pay increase to all the employees, an internal note will be distributed soon about this. She would invite all the employees to a festive event to meet all of them in a friendly evening.  
Mr. Miller swallowed hard, as he understood that she was directive, highly right and straight. She was young and unexperimented but she knew what she wanted, she wasn't a person that could be easily manipulated.

John smiled when he heard Lisa enumerated all she wished to elaborate for her Company. She had the nerve to plant herself in the place. She proudly required what she wanted and didn't let anything out of her hand. She wished to control all, from the base to the top. He was proud of her. He thought she would be the key figure. He missed her a lot but numbers never stopped coming and he and Shaw were submerged by work.  
Days passed without John could see Lisa. He called her twice, saying that he missed her, that he loved her, she replied that she wanted him with her now. He couldn't because he was on a stake-out.

* * *

Lisa thanked the Millers for the friendly dinner with their friends and said goodnight. She entered the building and called the elevator. It lifted her up to the fifth floor, she forwarded to her door, unlocked it and came on in. She closed and locked the door. She was about to switch on the light when a hand firmly pressed on her mouth, an arm circled her waist and lifted her up from the floor. She unsuccessfully struggled with her head, her arms, her fists, her feet, exhaling muffled screams. The man carried her into her bedroom and fell in the bed on his back, with her on him. In a swift movement, she laid on her back with him on top of her. His weight crushed her and took her breath away. The scent, the muscular body, the large shoulders, the pounding heart, she recognized him.

"I missed you so much, baby." He murmured in a low voice and he gave her a long and passionate kiss that burned her entire body.

"John.." She kissed him back with fervor, her tongue dancing with his, caressing the roof of his mouth and his teeth.

"Two weeks, I didn't hold you in my arms, I didn't kiss you, I didn't make love to you. I can't live without you." John breathed, he nibbled and sucked her lower lip then after her upper lip and he plunged again his tongue into her mouth as he was famished.

"I missed you more, you don't know how I waited for you." Her heart was racing and she was impatient to make love to him.

"I never stop working, baby. If you plot crime and temperature together you get a straight line up. When the weather is warmer it produces a bigger increase in violence." John explained, kissing her eyelids.

Their clothes suddenly became an obstacle to their desire to touch each other, to caress sensitive spots on their bodies, to entangle their limbs, to feel their hot skin.  
John undressed Lisa with softness and sensuality, trailing his fingers and his lips on each piece of skin he uncovered; his strokes increased her desire and her need for him. Lisa quivered when she undressed him, she was fighting her restlessness when she unbuttoned his shirt when she unbuckled his belt and unzipped his pants. He helped her to undress him, feeling that she was impatient to touch him.  
He laid on top of her, their bodies were hot like the fire, he was hard for her and impatient too to possess her but he wanted to take his time to pleasure her first. He caressed her sides with his large hands, then her arms. He kissed every inch of her face, earning moans and sighs. He took her lips in his wet and warm mouth and gave her a full and devastating kiss that let her simmer.

"John, I love you." She whispered, circling his cheeks with her hands, then caressing his large shoulders.

"I love you, too." He replied, licking her neck, under her chin, then sucking her earlobe.

"Oh, my God, John, it's so good to be with you." She rubbed her body against his, his erected penis was throbbing against her belly and sent a scorching flow of lava between her legs. She gasped at the sensation and she pulled John firmly against her.

"John, John, I.." She murmured.

"Yes, what do you want, baby? Ask me." He breathed in a soft low voice.

"I want you." She genuinely replied and earned a smile from John.

She was highly excited. He guided his hard cock to her entrance and entered her in one languorous thrust. This wasn't what he had planned, but the night was young. She cried his name and arched her back, gripping his shoulders and digging her nails into his flesh. He thrust slowly into her, sliding in and out, pausing when he sensed that she was near the edge. He loved how she was sensitive under his mouth and his hands, he loved how she reacted to his penis that moved into her; he knew perfectly her body, her spots, he knew how to drive her where he wanted, just near the edge or higher in paradise. He loved that she desired him. He loved that she accepted him like he was.

She always let him feel where she stayed on the scale of the pleasure, she unconsciously gave him clues about that. She was intoxicating, he couldn't go without her, she made him exist in all his fibers. His strokes were long and deep, swapping between slow and hard over and over. He looked into her beautiful green eyes, she was looking at him too, her erected breasts rubbed against his chest, sending a hot wave in his belly that he couldn't control as it took him by surprise. He gave her a few harder strokes and she exploded into a great orgasm that spasmed her walls around his cock, feeding his own release. They loudly moaned in unison and shouted their names with heavy cries.

"Aaaah, baby...Hmmm." John shouted hoarsely in her neck, sinking deeper into her when he emptied his semen into her core.

"JOOHNN, JOOHNN.." She screamed out.

John wrapped her in his arms and slid on his side with her. They slowly landed on Earth, breathing out.

"Oh, my God, Lisa, I don't know how you do it but sometimes I feel that little John is trigger-happy." He said with a laugh.

"John, better like this than nothing." She burst out of laugh.

"Hmmm, my love, you make cheeky humor with me now." John kissed her with tenderness.

"I can teach you a bit of cheeky humor, I was a French Letters teacher, I can tell you that some poets and writers were naughty in their life and they wrote about some situation comedy. In this outcome, we are innocent babies compared to them." She laughed and kissed John all over his face.

"I love it when you say 'babies'." John murmured in her ear.

Her heart raced and pounded in her chest, she was moved but she said nothing.

"Oh, do you want to be my favorite naughty little mistress to teach me on situation comedy?" John sighed, waiting for her reaction with a wide smile.

"John, where are you going to playing this game?"

"It's not a game, I just want to love you more, to pleasure you more, and if it exists situations that I don't know, please teach me them." He rolled on his back with her on top of him.

"I love you like you are, don't change, be yourself. I love you more and more every day. No need to be or to copy someone else, my love." She kissed him pouring all she felt in her embrace.

His penis hardened and throbbed against her belly, sending a hot wave between her legs.

"I need you, my sweetheart." John murmured in her mouth, caressing her shoulder blades, her back, and her buttocks.

"I need you more, love." She replied, leaning back to her upper body.

She straddled him and positioned herself upon his penis that she held in her hand. She slowly moved down to possess him. He gripped her hips to initiate the up and down rhythm. She put her hands on his shoulders and rode him peacefully. He met her thrusts one by one, lifting his hips up when she moved downward and lifting them down when she moved upward. They moaned and caressed, John massaged her breasts while she caressed his shoulders; he stroked her belly, her hips and her thighs with his expert and long fingers; she leaned down on his chest to suck his nipples.

"You are incredible, my love, are French poets good lovers too?" John murmured, breathing fast.

"I don't know, John, stop speaking." She kissed him long and soft on his lips, plunging her tongue into his open mouth and designing the seams of this teeth.

He moaned in her mouth and he held her tightly against his chest before he released her to keep her busy on him. He gripped again her hips and he fastened the pace. She moved faster and harder on him, sensing that he desired more strength in their embrace. She rode him with passion again and again. Soon she felt the heat spreading in her stomach, she moaned louder and she grasped his arms. John locked his eyes with hers and pulled her head onto his to kiss her hard when their orgasms ran and exploded together. Her clenching walls swallowed his cock and his life liquid while their mouths were plugged on a searing kiss. They slowly came down from their heights, saying loving words. They held each other till their breaths returned to normal.

"Lisa, each time I feel like my heart explodes with you. I love you so so much." John confessed.

"John, you make me die and come back to life in your arms." She whispered.

They kissed passionately and cuddled under the sheets. Sleep wrapped them till the dawn.

* * *

T hanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated. Lisa makes John exist, she desires him, she accepts to step into the unknown and the mystery with him, she is scared to lose him; John feels the same for her; that is real love. But where are they going from now?


	16. Chapter 16 No Way

Ex CIA agent, vigilante and modern hero, John Reese is facing a dilemma. Love and happiness, I love writing them, especially about a man who thinks that he doesn't deserve them.  
Some dialogues are borrowed at S01-E09 'Get Carter'.

Warning: love scene at the beginning of this chapter. If you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 16

The morning light was spreading out in the bedroom and lighting their bodies that were enlaced like ivy rods and wrapped in the warmth and the softness of their skin. John woke up the first. He had slept like a baby, it had been a while since he hadn't rested so deeply. He gazed at Lisa through half-closed eyes. One arm rolled over her shoulders, the other laid on her forearm, he encased her against his side. She was holding him tightly with her arm around his waist, her head on his chest, her leg between his, her lips were touching his breast. He sighed and smiled at the sight of her beside him in the morning, in his arms. He thought and yearned above all to share with her most often of these privileged moments, even every day he could. As if she felt she was watched, her eyes fluttered and she lightly sighed, she slowly emerged from sleep. Her hand softly squeezed the muscles of his waist and her lips pressed on his breast. What a wonderful waking she gave to him. John waited for her to shake off the vestiges of sleep, she whispered a sleepy 'morning, love' before trying to open her eyes, she lifted her head up in the hollow of his neck and kissed him here. John slid on his side and clasped her in his arms tenderly.

"That is it, you wake up. Beautiful when you sleep and wake up. Always beautiful, my princess." John soughed in her hair, trailing light kisses on her forehead, her eyelids and her cheeks.

He caressed her hair, her jaws while his lips drew a wet line toward hers. She parted her lips to welcome his kiss. He plunged gently his tongue with delight in her mouth, giving her a long and passionate morning kiss that turned them upside down.

"I love you, Lisa."

"I love you too, John."

John laid on top of her to feel her entire body against him, under him, to claim her as his. He couldn't help himself to make love to her, he had lost too much time in burying his feelings, he wanted to feel alive again and she gave him all he needed for it: her love was like the water for the thirsty man he was, her body was like the warm home which welcomed him and would perhaps become the feeding nest of their future children, her soul was devoted like his. Each time he made love to her, he thought that they were building and cementing something solid and eternal, something that would last forever. This was true Love for him, with a capital L.  
When his penis penetrated her, their hearts raced and pounded in unison. She sighed his name in his ear like a joyful breath, he tightened her closer to him as to enter his entire body into hers. He thrust softly and slowly in her tight and warm inside; his eyes were burning with unshed tears so much they were in symbiosis, in full harmony. Lisa sensed that he was moved, that he was focused on both of them as ever he was. She gave herself to him passionately, she murmured love words while she kissed him everywhere over his face that grew him intense and fervent like the fire. His thrusts became longer and deeper over and over, he drove her out of control. She couldn't anymore remember who she was, she could only feel that was John who was loving her body, who was loving her, that was John who gave himself to her boundlessly.

"Lisa, Lisa, I love you." He said in a low voice.

"Yes, I love you more and more." She replied with a sigh.

Their orgasms were burning in their bellies, John was holding back to come at the same time than her. He pounded again and again in her heat without breaking the slow rhythm that was raising their pleasure to the edge. Lisa followed his thrusts while she was floating on a cloud, she gripped his shoulders and shivered.

"John, John." She called, trembling.

"Yes, baby, come, come now with me."

Her orgasm exploded, she arched her back, she cried loudly his name, holding him against her. John felt her walls squeezing his cock, he stiffened and gave her his precious life liquid, moaning her name in her mouth. He fell onto her, panting and fulfilled. His breath was short and fast. He slid on his side with her in his arms.

"Oh, my Lisa, you are my everything. No way, I will never leave you, you're mine and I'm yours forever. Tell me you will always stay with me." John whispered in his bedroom voice.

"I will never leave you, John. I will make you happy and love the life always."

They rested two more hours, entwined under the sheets. Then, Lisa got off the bed silently and she forwarded to the bathroom. She showered and felt content that John stayed the night with her. She dried and dressed in the dressing room. She wore a dark blue dress that tightened her curves. She had bought white, blue and grey shirts, undershirts, tee-shirts, jeans, socks and boxer-briefs for John, all well placed in a closet of the dressing room.  
In the kitchen, she cooked the breakfast and prepared a pot of coffee. It was Sunday, she hadn't to go to work and she hoped that John would spend the day with her. She heard the spray of water in the bathroom, she smiled and sighed, a burst of happiness spread over her that took her breath away. She wondered if this was real to love someone as they loved each other. John came out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist. She forwarded to him, took his hand and they headed to the dressing room.

"John, I thought of some clothe changes for you." She announced when she opened the closet.

"Oh, you did this for me, I never mind you know my size, thanks, my love." He replied to his great surprise.

"I let you change, then breakfast."

John dressed in fresh underwear and socks, with his suit pants and a grey shirt. In the kitchen they ate their breakfast, talking and staring at each other. John's phone rang. He took the call.

"Good morning, Finch."

"Good morning, Mr. Reese. I know it's your day off and I'm sorry to disturb you, we get a new number, I wait for you at the library."

"Okay." John closed the call, looking at Lisa.

"Sincerely, I hoped to be free, it's my day off, but I have to go. If I don't save these people, nobody else will." He plunged his hand into his pocket and handed a tiny white box to Lisa.

"What is it?" She asked with a smile, raising her brows with a shining look.

She opened the box and her mouth opened too. She admired the magnificent white gold ring with a large heart-shaped diamond. She swallowed hard and emotions stuck in the back of her throat. She looked up at him with wet eyelashes and trembling lips. Then she stared at the ring with awe, speechless.

"You liked it?" John asked with apprehension.

"Oh yes, it's.. wonderful. Thank you, John." She replied in a trembling voice.

John took the ring in the box and passed it to her annular left. He kissed her fingers and murmured:

"I promise to love you forever, to always protect you, to never leave you." He held her in his arms and kissed her forehead.

"It's a lifetime engagement, John. Do you know that?" She said while tears shed and dropped on her cheeks.

"Yes, I know and I want it. Once, you said that love wasn't a little moment of grace but it was a grace of a lifetime. You are the love of my life, you lifted me up from the dark." He kissed her passionately on her mouth.

"John, John, I love you so much." She breathed in his mouth.

He tightened his embrace and deepened his kiss. She welcomed the depth of his kiss in sucking his tongue softly. She gripped hard on his shoulders as to retain him. Her heart raced for him.

"We just know for a month. You may regret.." She whispered. He cut her off.

"For me, it's enough. I'm living on borrowed time. I haven't any time to waste." He caressed her face and her hair, locking his eyes with hers, then he gently sucked her lower lip.

"Please, come back soon, don't let me alone so long, John." She pleaded, giving him the key to her home.

"I will try, baby, I will try." With regrets, he took his jacket on, he put his gun in the back of his waistband and her key in his pocket. He kissed her on her forehead and left her home. Every time he left her she was completely disarmed and lost. She was scared for his life but she would wait for him impatiently, he was her everything.

John hurried to come out of her building. He was deeply displeased to leave Lisa, this was his day off and Finch called him. He wondered what case needed him to work on it. He arrived at the library and he found Finch absolutely upside down. He looked at the glass board where Finch pinned the photos.

"Whose number came up?" John asked.

"Mutual friend of ours: Detective Carter." Finch replied with a sigh.

"Detective Carter, again." John was dismayed. Joss was someone that he respected and admired.

"Yes, again. As a principled and clean cop, she has many enemies, both inside and outside the force." Finch said sadly.

Reese and Finch believed that the attempt on her life that the machine saw would come from one of three sources. The first was the current primary case on which she was working, the death of her CI a young man of twenty years old. The second was the fact that she had been the witness at the trial of a highwayman she had caught red-handed while he robbed and killed an uncooperative female victim, and she arrested him. The third was dirty cops around her.

"Where is she?" John asked.

"I tracked her phone this morning, she is at her mother's home." Finch replied.

"I will try to catch her and talk to her." John said, turning on his heels to leave the library.

John entered his car and dialed Joss.

"Detective Carter." Joss announced.

"Carter, it's John."

"John, whenever you show up, trouble's just around the corner, tread carefully around me." She yelled.

"You're in trouble, Detective." John whispered.

"I'm not the one who's hiding. Look, you keep playing God, and sooner or later, an innocent person's gonna get hurt. I can't let that happen." She let out her anger.

"Listen, I didn't call to talk about me. Your life's in danger." John insisted.

"I'm a cop. My life's always in danger."

"You're not listening to me. I'm trying to tell you someone wants you dead." He hammered.

"Who told you that? What do you want?"

"I want you to start being more careful. For instance, if you're gonna take down this bad guy, you should know the man's running guns. He has an arsenal at his fingertips." He warned.

"What - how do you keep finding out all of this information? I guess I have you to thank for this. How do you always know when something bad's about to go down?" She questioned.

"Like you said, I always seem to know."

"I can take care of myself, I'm a big girl!" She retorted.

"I warned you, Detective. Better you always wear a bulletproof vest and your partner, Fusco, too."

"Well, what am I supposed to do? To become paranoiac, to zone out, to play kneecap terminator?"

"Let me help you. There are things you can do, Detective, and things you can't. And that's where I come in."

"Why do you want to help me?"

"Because you are someone the world cannot afford to lose."

Joss was stunned by these words and softened her voice.

"I gonna be careful, John. But bad guys won't have a good time with me around. I don't intend to change my job attitude. I have arrested tough criminal guys and I didn't even have to shoot anybody to do it."

She ended the call.

John dialed Finch.

"Finch, she is stubborn and proud but I think that she kept the message. I gonna stake out her in the shadow when she is outside or in her home."

"Yes, Mr. Reese, I sent Ms. Shaw to investigate the environment and family of Robert Hart, the assassin arrested by the Detective. She gave evidence at his trial in Philadelphia and he was serving his life without parole sentence in Holmesburg Prison. I contacted Detective Fusco to keep an eye on her in the precinct."

"I hope we didn't miss a source of trouble. Nevertheless, she is under our control. I gonna wait for her in front of her home. Track her phone and warn me when she comes back."

John went to his place to take some ammunition and firearms in a sports bag. Finch called to warn him that she was thirty minutes near to arrive. He came out his loft and he drove toward Joss's home. On the way, he bought sandwiches and beverages and sped up to his destination. At 06:00 pm he saw her parking her blue Impala in front of her brownstone. She came out her car and looked around before entering her home. John noticed that she watched in the street and felt relieved that she got some attention. An hour later she came out her home, wearing a leather brown dress and high heels and a little purse.

'Oh, Detective, very seductive, you are dating tonight or having a drink. Well, let's go with you.' John muttered into his beard.

A cab stopped in front of her and she climbed into it. John tailed the cab till it stopped in front of the Irish pub and restaurant Mr. Dennehy's at 63 Carmine Street, in the heart of Greenwich Village. She entered the restaurant while he parked his car in the lot. When he looked at her in the space she was greeting with girlfriends and she sat at their table. He entered the restaurant and forwarded to the counter. He ordered a beer and looked around to the customers seated at the dinner tables and on the bar stools at the counter. The table of Joss's friends was noisy and joyful. All the girls were drinking cocktails and eating snacks, they even ordered another round of cocktails before the dinner. Joss was speaking with waving gestures, she clapped her hands and laughed merrily while her friends did the same. John was curious to know what enjoyed the Detective that was always angry with him, but he couldn't hear clearly the conversation from where he stood.  
His phone rang, he took the call.

"Mr. Reese, Ms. Shaw just called me. The man Robert Hart jailed in Philadelphia has a brother who lived in New York and worked in a restaurant named Mr. Dennehy's. His name is Raphael. The mother complained that her sons were a bad seed, that Raphael wanted to take revenge for his brother for being jailed because of Detective Carter. He menaced to harm the Detective."

"Finch, Joss is in the restaurant Mr. Dennehy's at this moment. I gonna take care of him."

"John, don't get in trouble, keep the Detective out of his reach."

"No, I'm not going to keep him at distance, I gonna corner him before he harms her."

"Mr. Reese..." John cut the call.

John called the bartender and asked:

"Is Raphael working tonight?"

"He is not yet arrived. Oh yes, there, it's him." The bartender showed Raphael who took his turn behind the counter.

"Thanks." John replied, keeping the man in his sight.

Raphael looked at the clients at the dinner tables and immediately spotted Joss. His face darkened and grimaced with hate. He served the patrons at the counter without taking his eyes off her. John thought that he wouldn't risk harming Joss inside the restaurant room in front of the crowd of clients but he wouldn't hesitate to corner her alone in the restroom or outside. The girls ordered their dinner and red wine bottles. They ate their dinner joyfully and the evening spent without a problem. Time turned over 11:00 pm when Joss and her friends stood up to leave the restaurant. They paid at the counter and came out. On the sidewalk, they talked goodbye and hugged friendly. John saw Joss hailing a cab and climbing into it. He tailed the cab carefully and sensed something wrong as he wasn't driving in the direction of Joss's home. At a red traffic light, John stopped beside the cab and glanced at it. Joss was resting her head on the headrest and seemed sleepy, the driver profile was watching at the traffic light. When he turned his head toward John, John recognized Raphael. The cab got off to a flying start and sped in the traffic with John's car on his trail.

'Dammit, how he did it. Shit.' John swore. No way he lost Joss's cab of his sight. Raphael succeeded to abduct her under his nose, he was a skilled vicious guy. John thought to bump and corner the cab to stop its escape. But he didn't want Joss to be hurt. He had to find a solution right now. He dialed Finch.

"Finch, we have a problem, Raphael Hart abducted Joss in a cab he is driving. I need your help to stop the cab. I don't want to hurt Joss."

"I can stop the traffic on the Avenue you are, conflicting the traffic lights. Wait a moment." Finch reacted.

In a minute, all traffic lights got red or unsynchronized and cars were blocking the ways and honking. John stopped behind the cab and stepped in front the driver seat window, his gun in hands. Raphael came out of the cab, his hands up, raising his brows.

"What's up, what do you want?" He asked John.

Without waiting for the reply, he punched John in the face without success and came again to charge him. John gave him a headbutt that crunched his nose and threw him on the ground. Raphael swiftly took a gun tied to this ankle and John kneecapped him without mercy before he used it. Raphael screamed in pain, holding his injured knee. John picked up Raphael's gun and put it in his pocket. Then he extracted Joss from the back seat of the cab. She was completely unconscious, drunk or drugged or both. He installed her in his car and tied her security belt. Then he tied the hands of Raphael and commanded him to sit on the back seat of his car and went him to sleep with a knock on his head with the butt of his gun. John dialed Finch.

"Finch, I got her, Raphael is knocked out in my car. I call Lionel."

Soon the traffic lights worked normally and the cars slowly moved again to the streets.

He called Fusco.

"Tall, Dark and Deranged, let me guess. You need help and it's an emergency." Lionel said.

"No wonder you're a detective." John chucked.

"What's up new tonight?" Lionel asked loudly.

"I gonna gift wrap at the 8th precinct a bad guy Raphael Hart who threatened your partner Detective Carter."

"How is she?" Lionel demanded with concern.

"Well, I walk her home. Wait for me outside the precinct." John cut the call.

Ten minutes later, John arrived at the 8th precinct and entrusted Raphael to Lionel. He explained the case of Joss and asked him to retain the perpetrator in custody until Joss came back to make a legal statement against him. Joss was slowly emerging from her haze. John saluted and thanked Lionel before climbing into his car.

"Carter, how are you?" John asked her, driving toward her home.

"Dammit, John, what the fuck, what are you doing here?" She stuttered.

"The brother of the assassin, whom you were the witness at his trial, tried to harm you in the cab. Now you are safe, I walk you home." John explained.

"He sprayed something on me then I fell asleep."

"You sniffed ether. It's an anesthetic. I lead you to the hospital." John said.

"No, no hospital. I'm fine." She revolted.

"As you wish." John breathed out.

"Where is my purse?" She asked.

"In the glove box." He replied.

Fifteen minutes later, John parked his car in front of the brownstone of Joss. He came out of the car and rounded it to open the passenger door and help her to go out the car. When she came out of the car she was stumbling on her legs and she barely could stand right. John picked her in his arms and forwarded to her door. She clutched her arms around his neck and she closed her eyes to not see the building walls whirling around her.

"Give me your key, please."

She searched blindly in her purse and handed him her key. He unlocked the door and entered her home. He switched on the light after some fumbling.

"John, I need to vomit, upstairs, quick." She said.

John climbed upstairs two by two, she showed him her bathroom. He stormed into the bathroom and put her on her feet in front of the toilet. She kneeled and began to vomit while John gathered her hair behind her neck.

"It's good to vomit, alcohol is harmful with anesthetic."

When she finished vomiting, John washed her face with a wet towel. He prepared her toothbrush with toothpaste and handed to her. She brushed her teeth. When she ended, she looked at him in the mirror and covered her face with her hands. She cried loudly, she couldn't stop. John turned her face to him and held her in his arms. He rocked her like a child to calm her sobs.

"Sshh, don't cry, Joss. Please, stop it." John murmured, caressing her hair.

She gripped his shoulders then she rolled her arms around his neck and she kissed him passionately on his mouth. She pressed her body against his and she moaned with delight.

"Joss, no, ether disinhibited you, stay quiet. You need to rest now." He managed to get him gently out of her embrace and he led her into her bedroom.

"You stay with me." She begged.

"Yes, I stay on the couch, okay? I bring you water. You must drink a lot to evacuate the chemical product." She nodded and he went down to the kitchen to search and gather bottles of water.

When he returned to her bedroom she laid in her bed under the comforter and she was already asleep. He put the bottles on her nightstand. He deep breathed and shook his head. Joss was a beautiful woman, attractive and desirable, and she was alone. He wondered why she hadn't found the right person though he knew that she had dated many times. He returned downstairs. He thought to Lisa and he tried to listen to her phone. He heard the TV sound, it was late, he sent her short messages to which she answered immediately.

'Hi, my baby, I love you and kiss you everywhere.'

'I miss you, John. When do you come and see me, treasure?'

'Monday evening, I miss you too, love, we will make up for lost time. I invite you to The River Cafe, be the nicer woman, my baby.'

'My lovely man, it's a date! I walk on air to go out with you.'

'So do I, and after I will walk you in paradise, baby. I call you tomorrow morning. Goodnight, honey.'

'Goodnight, my love.'

John smiled and yearned for the moment he would hold her tightly against him. He took his jacket and his shoes off. He put his gun on the table and forwarded to the door to lock it. He laid on the couch and covered himself with a blanket he found on the back of it. He quickly fell into a deep sleep.

John woke up earlier in the morning. He took his shoes on and forwarded to the kitchen to make a breakfast and some coffee. Searching in the closets, drawers and fridge, he found all the kitchen utensils and ingredients to prepare it. In fifteen minutes, coffee, pancakes, crumbled eggs and bacon were ready. He was preparing the bowls and plates when Joss got downstairs and shouted sarcastically, rolling her eyes:

"Hey! Help yourself! Make yourself at home, John."

John froze, taken aback, holding the spoons in one hand and the plate of pancakes on the other hand.

"I'm kidding, good morning, John." She laughed.

"Oh, good morning Carter. How are you?" John greeted with relief.

"Better, I'm sorry to ask you to stay but I really didn't wish to stay alone, I was so angsty." She excused.

"You don't have to apologize. It's normal. I made breakfast for us."

"I'm a little nauseous this morning." She complained.

"With the ether, you breathed in yesterday, it's a result." He tilted his head.

"I didn't behave too." she bowed her head.

"It's another result, don't worry. Hopefully, it was with me, someone else could have taken advantage of the situation." His look dropped on the table where the breakfast was served.

They sat across each other and ate their breakfast.

"It's good, John." She said.

"Thank you." He replied.

His phone rang. He rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hey, Finch, good morning."

"Good morning, Mr. Reese. I saw you are at Detective Carter's home. How is she?" Finch asked with a peak of curiosity.

"She felt bad yesterday, but this morning she is doing well." John replied dryly.

After his rather sharp comment, there was an embarrassed short silence.

"We have a new number. I'm sorry about yesterday, it was your day off. You will be free tomorrow, I promise. I wait for you at the library."

"I'm on my way." John closed the call with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, Carter. I have to go. You must make a legal statement against Raphael Hart who harmed you yesterday, don't forget. He is dangerous."

"Thank you, John, for all, thank you." She said gratefully.

"Take care of you, Carter." He replied, wearing his jacket, putting his gun in the back of his waistband.

He smiled at her and came out of her home, closing softly the door. She forwarded to her window and kept watching him on the sidewalk till he entered his car and melted in the morning traffic. She sighed and thought that she was lucky to have this man who had saved her life and her son's life many times. She had a thing for him but she recognized that he couldn't be fixed with a woman because of his line of work. He led a dangerous life and she sensed that a day she would find him bleeding to death on a street or she wouldn't see him anymore. Her heart ached at this thought. She cleared the table and made the dishes. Then she went to her bathroom to shower. She dressed in her work attire, pantsuits and a blouse, boots, she put her gun in the holster over her blouse and she took her police badge. She came out of her home and locked the door. She entered her car and she dialed her son Taylor who stayed in her mother's home. Then she started her car and drove toward the 8th precinct.

* * *

Thanks for reading, reviews are greatly appreciated. This chapter where Joss and John shares an intimate hug is important, it shows that Joss has inhibited feelings and that John is straight and faithful. In the future, these two personalities who admire and respect each other would match if circumstances allow it. Stay with me to follow the unforeseen developments of action, love and friendship.


	17. Chapter 17 The Conflicting Case

Though love and work are melted along the days, one thing is sure: John is hard at work, always putting his life online for people he cared. Causing love and fear from Lisa, regrets from Joss, worry from Finch, interest from Shaw and Lionel, John is loved, he feels that he is but not how much.

* * *

Chapter 17

Another work week started for Lisa. This Monday, she had an appointment with a photographer concerning the publicity campaign she took in charge of. She imagined a large photo with a beautiful top model wearing Riviere Company's luxurious articles as leather city handbag and belt, hat and gloves, inimitable shoes, precious jewels, not too much but just enough that women longed to wear them. When the photographer arrived in her office she greeted him and invited him to sit across her. She explained her project in all aspects. He understood and agreed on almost all she wanted. Then he asked to say his word on it.

"It's a nice project and I already think to someone to represent your enterprise. I even memorize in my mind how this someone would show the greatest side of it with a delicate and bright image."

He opened his briefcase and took a sheet of drawing paper and charcoal pencils. He drew on the sheet a woman shape, with a long red gown, split on each side, and a deep cleavage in V till the waist tied with a black belt. The legs were spread and visible, the shoes were transparent high stilettos. The head was turned on the right profile, with a black hat that went down the forehead. The right inside hand touched the hat edge, the left hand stayed on the waist. Then he drew accessories on the shape as a bracelet, a scarf, a handbag on the shoulder, gloves.

"It'nice, but I'm not fond of the red color. I prefer sparkled black dress. I like the dress appearance and the shoes and the hat. We continue to work on it this morning. We can scan your sheet and make an image file we easily modify. I have the application on my computer." They both worked on the top model image until Lisa was satisfied.

"Now, tell me what top model will impersonate my company." She demanded.

"You." He replied simply.

"Me? No, no, I don't want to show up all around New York. No way, my face or my body may not be used as a marketing product."

"Your face will be half-hidden by the hat and shady. Only an anonymous body will show up. That is to say, you will be unrecognizable. It's a fantastic idea. A mystery whom every woman will wish to assume the identity."

"In this case, I ask you to fill a confidentiality agreement to certify that no one will know the name of the woman on the image. You will have to deal with my lawyer about this. It's valid for all your co-workers. It' a serious issue for me, for my Company and for you." She warned.

"I totally agree with you. Please choose the dress and the outfits you want to show and we fix an appointment for the shooting."

"The best is this afternoon, if you can because I'm busy all others days. I contacted my layer for the agreement." She commanded.

The photographer enjoyed how she was directive, speedy, willing and straight.

"02:00 pm at my studio? We shoot all the afternoon, it will be tiring for you, you know."

"I lived worse." She replied with a laugh.

They shook their hands and the photographer came out of her office with a large smile. This was a big challenge for him to work with a customer like the heiress of the Riviere enterprise, he would gain some reward of his pairs, some fame and some new clients. Lisa called her lawyer to explain the deal she contracted with the photographer. The lawyer promised to mail her in the morning all the pieces of the confidentiality agreement.

When John arrived at the library, Finch and Shaw were talking about the new number. They looked at John, who seemed tired, with a beard of two days, he hadn't had the time to stop at his place to shower and change of clothes.

"Good morning, Mr. Reese." Finch said, handing him a black coffee.

"Good morning, Finch, Shaw, thanks." John replied.

"Morning, Reese. Carter-sitting tonight." Shaw said with a naughty look.

"Shaw, stop." John replied in a menacing tone.

"Our number is named William Stubb, he is twenty-four, he is a student in journalism who is doing work experience at the New York Daily News, 4 New York Plaza. He did his High School in St. John's University, a private Catholic and Vincentian university that prepares students for personal and professional success in today's global society. He lived in the Queen's Campus that he left for a tiny flat at 114 Madison Street in Brooklyn. His parents are fortunate and stayed in San Francisco. I couldn't get any more information about him. His student file is not currently available."

Finch pinned the image on the glass board. A pleasant look, brown hair, blue eyes, nice features, he looked like a son of a well-to-do family.

"We are going to rummage through his home to find some pieces of the puzzle. We will watch him how he goes to work at the New York Daily News, who he meets, where he has lunch, his timetable." John enumerated, rubbing his chin.

"Finch, we need subway tickets in plus of the car. I dislike the subway, I prefer driving." Shaw snarled.

"Okay, the first on place waits for the second to pay the steaks." John joked.

"I think I will pay a visit to the St. John's University. We stay in touch and keep themselves informed regularly. Victim or perpetrator, we keep him always in our sight. Night and day." Finch said.

John and Shaw left the library and forwarded to the parking. They climbed into the black SUV, Shaw in the driver seat and melted in the traffic toward 114, Madison Street, William Stubb's home. Just as they parked in the street, William came out of his building, wearing jeans and sneakers, a leather jacket with a Nike backpack. He walked at a brisk pace toward the subway entry.

"Shaw, you follow him while I sneak in his place. I keep the car. Notice his exact ride in the metro." John commanded.

"Okay, Reese." She replied with an aggrieved look.

Shaw came out the car and followed on William's heels. John waited for William's frame disappeared from his sight to come out of the car and to forward to his building. In the building, he easily found the stage and the door of the guy and picked the lock to enter. The inside was simple: a hallway, a kitchen, a bedroom, a little lounge, a bathroom. John visited all the rooms, opening closets, drawers, scanning with his hands and eyes upon the furniture and under them, raising the stacks of clothes and dishes. He searched in every kitchen unit, under the sink, in the oven, in the microwave, in the fridge and behind them. He rummaged in the bathroom every part of it, even in the air ducts. Nothing abnormal. Then he targeted the computer on the table in the lounge. He started it. The login window appeared asking for the password, John scratched his head and gave a try that failed. He called Finch.

"Hey, Finch, I can't log in to his computer. Can you help?"

"Yes, a moment, I gonna try, Mr. Reese."

Finch took remotely the control of the computer and hacked easily the password.

"Done, Mr. Reese. He encrypted the disk to ensure nobody can read it. I try to decrypt the algorithm. Yes, I did it. I leave you, Mr. Reese, I'm driving so I'm delinquent to use a keyboard and a steering wheel at the same time."

"Thank you, Finch." John smiled at the vision of Finch typing on the keyboard while he was driving.

John dug through the personal directories and files, through the installed applications and programs, through the databases and articles and he found nothing suspicious. Then he started the Internet navigator to investigate the visited links history, the visited links history was empty. It was obvious that the user wanted to blank all the links he had visited. He plugged a large capacity disk and created an image of the computer disk. He was done with the computer. Making a last round in the flat he remarked a creased paper in the wastebasket. He took it and flattened it with his fingers. It represented a drawing of a building structure, a large aerial building structure. John took photos with his phone of all the plan then he creased the paper and put it again in the wastebasket. He attached a micro bug to the smoke detector. He dialed Finch.

"Finch, I find the drawing of a plan, I send you the photos. His Internet navigator has no history about visited links; I cloned his disk in case you can find something interesting on it; I fixed a micro bug; I rummaged everywhere and found nothing else." John reported.

"Good, I just arrive at St. John's University. Ms. Shaw called me that she followed Mr. Stubb in the subway till the New York Daily News. He listened to music on his phone all the way, he didn't speak to anybody, a lonely young man. Then he walked to his workplace. She is there, waiting for you."

"I'm on my way." John closed the call.

John drove carefully toward the New York Daily News. He already spotted Shaw on the sidewalk, her hands in her pockets, pacing in front of the building. He dialed Shaw.

"Shaw, I'm here, just on the other side." John said. She nodded at him and crossed the road. She climbed into the passenger seat.

"I'm hungry, Reese. You owe me a steak." She grumbled.

John smirked and nodded. He wondered if entering in the NY Daily News building would be easy. He was interested to visit the premises of this well-known newspaper, and to situate William in it. He shared with Shaw his thoughts and she agreed with him; she asked him if he could sneak in his Nike backpack at the same time. He has to find a pretext to play it by ear without being disturb. Searching in his pockets, he rediscovered the security guard's badge of the Bank of America and the Marshall Jennings's badge. He wasn't helpless if somebody stopped him inside. He came out of the car and forwarded toward the building; he entered in the hall and strode to the elevator; he entered in and pushed the button 1. He would have to investigate every floor to find William. On floor 1, he visioned a lot of offices in open space, almost all workers were young and motivated, head on their screen and drumming on their keyboard. John attentively looked at every one, all the seats were occupied, no William in sight. He returned to the elevator and lifted up to floor 2. A same landscape of offices, where some seats were empty. John walked and gazed at all the people and spotted William in a corner, his Nike backpack at his feet when a tall man stood in front of him and asked:

"Can I help you? Search for someone?"

John showed the security guard's badge and smiled gratefully. The man raised his hands with a big 'sorry' and went on his way. It was lunchtime. William got up and followed the group toward the elevator, his phone in his hand, decontracted, he exchanged a few words with a young girl. John walked a few steps behind him and cloned his phone before he disappeared in the hallway. When the offices were deserted, John came nearer William's box and sat on his chair. He looked into his Nike backpack and discovered a second phone that he couldn't clone and a second Nike backpack. This one was fine, folded, lighter with a white 'Swoosh' thinner than those of the backpack which contained it. John tapped his earpiece as Finch called him.

"Mr. Reese, Ms. Shaw, I just finished my investigation at St. John's University. I met the principal director of the school. I proposed to him to share my experience in computing with the school, especially about the profile information he recorded in his database. I asked about students that practiced basket. 'Lucky guess'! Genuinely, he talked about Mr. Stubb because he was the leader of the Campus basket team. So I learned that he quit the team because he didn't stay on the Campus anymore. He had a divergence of opinion with his education counselor about his ability to obtain his degrees to work in this branch. Mr. Stubb obtained the internship by himself while his counselor tried to pull the rug out from under him. That's a strange behavior, finally, I got the name of the counselor and met him briefly before I left. This Mr. Stark seemed to have some female gestures that let me think that he is a gay person. At the same time, in the great hall, I visioned all the plans of the university, one matched the photos you sent me, Mr. Reese: it is the drawing plan of the university and campus in the Queens with all the numbered rooms, areas and parking."

"Finch, I investigated where William worked in the NY Daily News. He stays on floor 2. I rummaged his backpack and find a second phone that I couldn't clone, and another backpack folded in it. We continue stalking him. Finch, can you collect the disk copy in front of the newspaper?"

"Yes, Mr. Reese. I'm a little perplexed. This young man seemed to be smart and was bullied by his counselor. He found a good internship, quit the campus to rent a home as to escape something. Keep watching him, at the moment we have no clues if he is a victim or a perp. I go back to the QG. Stay in touch with me." Finch closed the call.

John came out of the building. Shaw told him that she was at the 'Thunder Bun eatery', 1 New York Plaza. John grimaced because it served most hamburgers, sandwiches and fries. He strode toward the restaurant. He entered it and forwarded to Shaw table. He sat across her and they ordered their 'meal': two hamburgers with fries for Shaw and Chicken fingers with creamed spinach for John. William was seated a few tables behind, in the sight of Shaw. As soon as they were served, Shaw grasped one hamburger and bit it hungrily, she had her mouth full of food and she talked to John:

"Reese, you like nuggets with popeye vegetable? Little stomach today!" She wiped her mouth with a wave of her hand.

"I'm not too hungry." John replied with a flat tone. In fact, his appetite lowered when he looked at her eating as a famished baby with bad manners.

They ate their lunch while looking at William attitude. When William came out of the restaurant, they followed him with discretion to his workplace. They climbed into their car and wait for the end of the workday. Finch joined them to take charge of the disk copy. They staked out for hours till he came out of the building and forwarded to the subway entry.

"Your turn, Reese." Shaw said handing him the subway tickets.

John sighed and grabbed the tickets. He hurried behind William on the way toward the subway. When walking, he dialed Lisa. After five rings she answered.

"John? How are you?" She questioned with angst.

"Fine, baby. I'm busy, I'm still working and I fear that our evening is compromised. It's not canceled but only postponed to one or two days, I really don't know. I'm sorry, my love." he said very disappointedly.

"You don't need to apologize, John. I know." She replied with a heavy heart.

"I will call you later. I love you, sweetheart, so much." He sighed with sincerity.

"I love you too, my treasure." She smacked a kiss on the phone and she closed the call. She bowed her head and held back her tears. Then she returned on the set to continue the shooting with the photographer.

Johnn entered the subway train, right behind William. Standing up, he observed him, silent and lonely, listening to music on his phone. John gazed all around the people on the train. Nothing to report during the ride. William got off at a subway station near his home. In the street, he slowly walked toward his building, John on his heels. Shaw had parked the car in front of William's home. When John entered the car she asked:

"Subway, that's not a bundle of laughs, hue, Reese."

John shrugged and sighed. She handed him a sandwich and a coffee. It was 07:00 pm, a long stakeout seemed to figure on the horizon. John ate his sandwich and drank his coffee. He was tired but said nothing. On the radio, he searched for some peaceful music. He slid back his seat to extend his legs more comfortably and he rested in a semi-awakening. Shaw looked at his profile and his eyelids that fluttered.

"Sleep, Reese?" She asked.

"No, trying to stay awake."

Time was 00:30 am. John's phone rang. Looking at the screen Lisa's name showed up. He came out of the car to keep the conversation private, far from Shaw's ears.

"Hey, baby, what's happened?" He asked with a worried tone.

"John, I feel bad, I.. I.." Lisa stuttered.

"You did this nightmare yet again, hum?" He demanded.

"The same one, I lost you..I.. I miss you, treasure, I miss your smile, your laugh, your kiss and the way you say I love you." She murmured with a little voice.

He felt a heat burning in his chest and an emotion washing over him from his hair down his toes.

"Baby, I'm working at the moment. I can't come and see you." John replied softly.

"John, I know you can't. Just hearing your voice comforts me, my angel." She sighed.

"I'm sorry, baby, I don't know when we will see. Stay calm, when all this ends we will take a break together."

"Promise me, you will find a way to me and that you will stay with me." She murmured quietly, clearly, slowly with tenderness.

Completely disarmed in front of her sweetness and her loving request, he stayed speechless, pacing on the sidewalk, along with the building. He was craving to run toward her and hold her in his arms and lose himself in her body. She never called him in the night, she respected him and she was aware he prioritized his work above all. Her bad dreams highly disturbed her, she needed him that she had to call him so late.

"Baby, I promised you to never leave you, remember." He remembered her.

"Yeah." She sighed, a few disappointed.

"Honey, I promise you to stay with you more often, but we have to be careful. Our relationship must remain secret and private for your safety." He whispered, sick at heart.

"I understand, John, I agree and I will make do with that. You did so much for me." Her voice had become raspy and low as she was on the verge of tears.

"Baby, once this case is closed, we will put it right, I swear I gonna take care of you as you deserve. Now, try to rest, babe, I love you and I kiss you everywhere." He poured all his love in his words.

"I love you too."

"I call you tomorrow, love." He ended the call, he felt bad that she was alone and perturbed.

He climbed into the car and caught Shaw's eye. She was about to blurt something out when she glimpsed William coming out of his building.

"Reese, the guy is on the town tonight." She murmured.

William climbed into a car, started it and pulled away. They tailed him, they were driving toward Upper Manhattan. About an hour later they stopped near St. John's University. John dialed Finch.

"Finch, Stubb is in front of St. John University in the Queens. I wonder what he is plotting. He is entering the area. We are on his heels."

"Be careful John. Don't get in trouble. If Mr. Stubb goes into St. John's University by night that is he is going to perpetrate a shameful action."

"Don't worry, Finch, we are going to catch him before he does something illegal." John chuckled. He closed the call.

John and Shaw furtively walked behind William that slid in the hall of the school through a lateral door whom he picked the lock.

"Reese, you have a paper clip competitor." Shaw huffed.

"I like to be the challenger, Shaw." John replied with a smirk.

Entering the building, William snaked in and out the hallways and the stages till he entered into a room and closed the door behind him. John noticed the room number and tapped his earpiece.

"Finch, what is the room 23 on the drawing plan?"

"Wait, 23, 23, this is an administrative office, according to the detailed plan I hacked a few hours ago, it's Mr. Stark office, the education counselor of Mr. Stubb. Why?"

"He is in this room."

John took his gun in hand and listened to the door before he opened it and let Shaw entered like a thief and followed her. William was shutting a drawer when he turned and faced the two vigilantes that pointed their guns at him.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"The night watch." John replied dryly.

All a sudden, two other men loomed from the dark, armed, and aiming at them. John fired in their kneecaps with precision while Shaw knocked William and immobilized him.

"Little crap, where is your backpack?" Shaw yelled.

John tied the hands and the ankles of the two men and he gagged them, then he collected the guns. Shaw menaced William to torture him if he didn't answer her questions. The student laughed at her hysterically and mocked her. She took her blade in her pocket and pointed it at his crotch.

"You never sing like a eunuch?" Shaw jabbed him between his legs.

"Stop that, Shaw." John commanded.

John approached William and asked him with a low voice:

"What are you doing here? Where is your backpack? What are you planning to do?"

William stayed quiet, a mocking look in his eyes. Shaw was rummaging everywhere in the room.

"If you don't answer, my co-worker is going to make you spit it at her manner, and she's good at that, believe me."

William shrugged and said nothing. Shaw returned to them.

"I find that."

"The second phone." John said thoughtfully, he looked meticulously at the cell that clocked time reversely and exclaimed:

"It's a detonator, Shaw. Where is the bomb, William, how many bombs, William?"

"You can't stop that, even if you destroy it." William snickered.

Shaw seized her blade and sank it a few in his groin to browbeat him. William screamed. John turned away but they had to find the bomb at any cost.

"I can break your kneecaps one by one too. A eunuch in a wheelchair, look like an enjoyed life for you?" She whispered, breathing on his face.

John dialed Finch.

"Finch, we have a problem. Stubb is a bomber. He had two partners. The bomb is armed, the detonator has worked and the countdown has begun and couldn't be stopped. The explosion is in 9 hours, that leads to 11:00 am. He didn't say a word about the location of the bomb. Perhaps more than one bomb." John said with concern.

"Mr. Reese, if someone is planning to bomb something, there should be something to cover that. We must take into account the fact that the person who plants a bomb involves an infrastructure base."

"Why isn't he a relevant number?" John demanded.

"Because his number came up as a result of a directive conflict with the existing 'relevant and irrelevant' scheme. We must find that or these bombs as soon as possible, Mr. Reese and threw them in a deserted place where there's not a living soul." Finch replied hastily.

"We are working on it." John closed the call.

Shaw screwed the silencer on her gun and aimed the right kneecap of Willian.

"I don't ask you again. You speak or the wheelchair." Shaw threatened him.

William was breathing heavily and beads of sweat ran from his forehead down his cheeks. He hesitated and looked at Shaw straight in her eyes, reading in them that she was determined to do what she said. He looked at the icy eyes and cold face of John and he capitulated.

"Okay, the bomb is in the hall, in the large flower display case, against the column."

"Where is the other bomb?" John asked, screwing his silencer to his gun too.

"At the New York Daily News, on my stage, in the coffee room, in the middle air vent." William confessed.

"Is there another one somewhere." John asked, putting the barrel of his gun on his left kneecap while Shaw was always aiming the right one.

"No, I swear, no." William panicked.

They tied his hands and came out of the room. They went down to the hall and found the bomb in the backpack hidden in the large flower box.

"What is that compact bomb, William?" John asked gritting his teeth.

"It's a bacteriologic bomb with anthrax virus." William stuttered.

Then they hurried outside toward their car and sped up to the newspaper's building.

"Shaw, call Lionel for the two kneecapped guys and keep an eye on William." John demanded to Shaw. She nodded.

John came out of the car and forwarded to the entrance door of the newspaper. A security guard showed up behind the glass door. John showed the badge of Marshall Jennings. The security guard opened the door and let John come on in.

"What'up Marshall?" He demanded with an inquisitive look.

"I must check on a few things for a specialized investigation. This needs to be clarified before this morning. I need your precious help, Ronald." John politely said to the guard whose name was badged on his uniform.

"Of course, Marshall. Anything. What do you need?" Ronald replied, honored to participate in the investigation.

"I need you to stay at the door where I'm going to check these few things, okay?" John was playing with the fire and had no time to lose.

They entered the elevator and John pushed the button 2. On the floor 2, he spotted the coffee room just in front of the open space offices.

"You stand guard here, okay?" John commanded.

"Yes, Marshall." Ronald proudly replied.

John entered the coffee room and gazed at the walls. Three air vents on a wall were just under the ceiling. John drew a table against the wall, he climbed onto it and took the grill apart of the middle air vent. He gathered a Nike backpack containing the compact bomb that looked like the one at the University. He put in place the grill and the table. He came out of the coffee room. The guard followed him to the entrance door and John shook his hand.

"Thanks, Ronald. You help me to save a lot of people. Glad to know you." John congratulated the guard, sincerely.

"You're welcome, Marshall."

In the street, John dialed Finch.

"Finch, we have a big problem. We gathered two bacteriologic bombs, with the anthrax virus. We can't throw them anywhere in the wide. It's 05:00 am., 6 hours before the explosion. What do we do?"

"Now, the FBI must intervene. But we can't show up. Call the detectives Carter and Fusco to gather the bombs and the detonator and give them to the FBI. Clean up your fingerprints on the items. Explain the facts with precision, they must hand the guys over to the FBI."

"Okay, Finch." John immediately called the Detective Carter.

"Detective Carter."

"Detective, it's John..." She cut him off.

"John, I'm in bed, have you see the clock? What do you want?" She asked, not so kind.

"Lucky you are Detective to sleep in a warm bed, sorry to wake you up but we are facing a disastrous situation." John replied in a serious tone.

John unloaded all the events from the showing up of the social number of William Stubb to the discovery that he was a bomber with two partners. He reported that they found two bacteriologic bombs likely to explode at 11:00 am with an unstoppable detonator, that the targets were St. John's University and the NY Daily News. The fact that William Stubb and his partners were terrorists implied that the FBI took the inquiry and neutralized the bombs and the guys. He said that he called Lionel to collect the wounded partners at St. John University and that himself detained Stubb and the bombs.

"John, in what a hell have you dipped down? Well, I'm going to hurry. Where are you?" She asked with agitation.

"At NY Daily News, 4 New York Plaza, but I can drive to the 8th precinct. It's better for you." John was relieved that she helped them.

"Okay, fine, John, 8th precinct, in 30 minutes. I can't do better." She said and closed the call.

Thirty minutes later, Joss arrived near the precinct, John and Shaw were waiting for her. John came out of the car and gave her the two backpacks with their lethal weapons and the detonator.

"John, what did you touched with your hands?" She asked in detective-mode.

"The backpacks and the detonator." John replied.

"You never wear gloves. I will clean your fingerprints from them." She said, looking at him with thinned lips.

"Thank you, Joss." He was grateful for her concern. He took her hand in his and squeezed it.

She smiled and blushed when he gazed at her, but she looked him in the eyes.

"It's normal, John, we are friends." She murmured. He shook his head and smiled at her.

"Yes, we are friends, Joss." He replied.

John opened the back door of the car and told William to come out.

"Take care of him, Detective." John said, winking at her.

He turned and entered his car. Shaw started it and pulled away in the morning traffic.

Joss entered the precinct with William and the two backpacks. She put handcuffs on him after removing the ties. She isolated him in an interrogation room with a cop and she immediately called the FBI.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think about this chapter. John likes his work and sacrifices his time and his safety for it. He is conscious that he sacrifices also Lisa though he tries to give her his time left. He is a tireless warrior, a loyal friend and a loving lover.


	18. Chapter 18 The Rest Of The Warrior

In this chapter, some dialogues are borrowed for the show.  
A project is unconsciously germinating in John's soul. It is neither clear nor neat in his mind only some attitudes betray himself.

Warning: love scenes, if you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 18

The case was solved at 06:00 am. He and Shaw joined Finch at the library. They made a debriefing on the closed case. John was exhausted and told Finch that he went back to rest at his place. He remembered him that the day after was his day off. When he reached his place, he immediately undressed and showered. A towel around his hips, he made a breakfast with coffee that he ate with appetite then he dialed Lisa.

"Hey, my baby, I missed you, sweetheart. How are you?" John asked with his bedroom voice.

"John, John, I was waiting for your call. How do you feel? Did you close your case?" She demanded joyfully.

"Yes, it's over, hopefully. We are free to dinner at River Cafe tonight." He said with an octave lower.

"I'm so glad we go out tonight. Tell me, how do I dress?"

"A nice dress, classy, not long. I will be there at 08:00 pm, okay, I love you."

"I love you too, John." He closed the call.

She was happy to go out with him. He made a reservation for the dinner. Then he fell on his bed and slept till 06:00 pm. He had rested peacefully because he needed to catch up on his lack of sleep. A headache was raising in his brain when he got off the bed. He had time to take care of him. He shaved his two days' beard and showered a second time. He perfumed his body and face with his preferred cologne. He dressed in a dark anthracite suit, a white shirt and a grey tie. He was in a rush to meet Lisa, he looked at his watch, it was time to go. He put his gun in the back of his waistband and came out his loft, locking the door. He drove toward Lisa's home carefully, traffic was dense tonight. When he arrived in front of her building, he dialed her to join him in the hall. He came out of his car and waited for her in the hall. He saw her coming to him, smiling. She threw herself into his arms and rolled her arms around his neck, locking her eyes with his. John held her and lifted her up from the floor. They kissed passionately, moaning in delight. John couldn't stop kissing her, his heart raced and pounded in his chest. He broke the kiss to inhale some air and soon his mouth took hers again into a hot pressure. She kissed him back with equal passion.

"Baby, I was longing this moment. I thought to you all the time. You're very beautiful tonight." He whispered on her lips.

She wore a black tulle sweetheart elegant short dress till the knees, strapless, all pleated and flimsy, and silver high heels sandals; she was elegant and simple as hell. John was awestruck and proud.

"You are seductive with this dark grey suit, John. Don't make me jealous tonight." She murmured in his mouth.

Finally, he let her down on her feet and rolled his arm possessively around her waist.

"Let's go." He said, leading them to the car.

"Oh, you get a new car, John." She noticed, admiring the gleaming black Porsche 911 Turbo S.

"In some sort." He replied with a large smile.

He opened her the passenger door, she sat and he closed the door. He installed himself in the driver seat. Before to start up the car, he cupped her head in his hands and kissed her long and deep again. She kissed him back and caressed his hands.

"John, aren't you hungry, treasure?" She demanded before she lost her mind.

"Yes, I'm hungry for you." He replied with a toothy smile. He broke the kiss with regret and he started up the car.

Arriving at the River Cafe, John parked the car in the lot and they entered the restaurant. John chose a table at the bottom of the room, facing the entrance door. The view extended on the river and the Brooklyn Bridge. They sat across and they immediately were surrounded by two stylish waiters.

She ordered 'Black Sea Bass' that was 'sauteed with lobster brown butter, grilled artichoke ravioli and fresh artichoke' and John ordered 'Lamb' that was 'Colorado rack of lamb, braised lamb breast and Swiss chard cannelloni, Sicilian pistachio and arugula pesto, whipped ricotta'. Both chose 'Chocolate Brooklyn Bridge' in dessert. John ordered a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre of France and Champagne Roederer Brut in a pre-dinner drink. He thought of the line he drew for more than two years, from being a lonely drunk bum, homeless, sleeping in the streets, robbing to feed himself, to a vigilant job with a solid bank account, a large loft that Finch offered him for his birthday and a wonderful woman who adored him and that he loved more than his life. He had crossed the hell for entering the paradise with this girl. He sighed and stared at her with a possessive look and a pounding heart. She was smiling at him with her fleshy lips tinted with a rosy gloss, well, the remaining rosy gloss after their kisses; she was staring at him with her lovely and tender hazel-green eyes. He took her hand and kissed her palm with fervor. The waiter served them the Champagne in a crystal flute glass. They toasted and took a sip. She drunk her glass and John too. John was filling their glasses again when his phone rang.

"Yeah, what'up, Shaw?" John demanded, rolling his eyes.

"You owned me a steak, Reese. You invite me?" She asked, muffling laughter.

"It's not the time." He replied, looking around then up on the bridge.

"The more the merrier." Shaw insisted.

"It's not funny, I don't need you to have fun." He closed the call and turned off his phone.

He shook his head and smiled at Lisa.

"Nothing interesting, sweetheart." He said, keeping a peaceful face. She drunk the half of her second glass slowly. She put it on the table and she spilled it on the tablecloth and on her dress. She laughed off her awkwardness.

"Oh my God. Two glasses and I'm already tipsy. I have to go to the restroom to dry my dress."

She got up, embarrassed as the waiters were changing the tablecloth and resetting a neat table.

"I go with you." John said.

"No." She commanded firmly. She forwarded to the restroom under the looks of the masculine customers.

A few moments later, a woman walked toward him.

"John?" A low hoarse voice called.

"Hello, Zoe." John stood up and she kissed him on the corner of his mouth.

"Working?" She demanded.

"Rather relaxing." He replied.

"Nice to see you're getting some good time. But I don't think there's a woman out there alive who could fix you, John." She scolded.

"You don't know me as well as you think you do." He defended.

"I think that I know you better than you know yourself. People like you and me, we're great for a night, great for a weekend. But we really suck at letting people in." She retorted.

John's eyes narrowed to look at Lisa who was coming back, men focused their eyes on her, she waved at him. Zoe followed his admirative and loving gaze and she felt a heartache in her chest.

"This gonna end same way, you know it, John." She mocked.

Lisa joined them and raised her brows. She glued herself to the side of John and put her left hand on his arm. Zoe glanced at the white gold ring and large sparkling diamond and she thought that he didn't do things by half, that she missed something with him. She felt sadness and frustration to lose him as a sex partner and even more that she had just discovered. John introduced the two women.

"Lisa, Zoe a friend. Zoe, Lisa, my romantic partner." John said, making it clear.

"Nice to meet you." Lisa greeted, reading disappointment and melancholy in Zoe's look.

"Hope you are right, John. Don't stay away too long." Zoe muttered in a raspy voice. Then she walked away.

Lisa felt a wave of jealousy flooding over her. This Zoe openly appealed John to 'not stay away too long'. They sat at their table.

"You slept with her." She hit him with her assertion.

After a few seconds of silence, he crossed his hands on the table and hiding his discomfort, he looked at her deep into her eyes.

"We had.. an arrangement. It was only sex. It's over. I didn't have seen her for months." He explained himself.

"It's not over for her. She clearly asked you to show up." She looked at him straight in his eyes, her anger was raising, flush spreading over her face.

"Oh, you're jealous, sweetie." His lips half-opened in a winning smile of contentment. He filled their glasses with Champagne.

"Yes, I am, and I don't share what is mine, John." She claimed and she gulped her glass in one go.

"Lisa, please, listen to me, I will never lie to you. You are my everything and I love you." He whispered, plunging his blue-grey eyes into hers. He took her hand and kissed her fingers with ardor.

She turned her head toward the window, looking at the Brooklyn bridge. Sparkling lights reflected from the necklace of the Bridge and the skyscrapers of Manhattan shimmered and swirled in the waters of the East River in the night-time landscape. She drowned her thoughts in the reflection of the lights in the water. She deep sighed to regain a healthy attitude.

"I'm sorry, I can't lose you, John."

She disliked to show her weakness but John was the center of her life, he was her breath, he was now the main reason she was going to stay far from her homeland for a very long time. John looked at the waiter and soon their meals were served. They ate in a better mood and talked about their childhood. She learned that when John was eight his father Connor tried to teach him how to drive and he damaged some neighbors' property. He also claimed to be the one who kept the school bullies in line during his academic career. He was moved when invoking his youth memories and she found him more endearing than ever. He showed her his soft and tender 'teddy bear' side, no one could imagine he possessed it.

They tasted the French white wine Sauvignon Sancerre. Lisa stopped drinking, feeling that she was more than tipsy. They appreciated their chocolate dessert. One moment, he leaned toward her and his thumb cleaned the corner on her mouth with some chocolate and he sucked it. She smiled and shook her head at his delicate attention.

"What?" He demanded.

"You steal my chocolate, now."

"I'm good at that too."

As they finished the evening, John paid the bill and they returned to Lisa's home. In the elevator, John lifted her up against him and kissed her deeply. His erection grew hard and quick when he roamed his hands over her thighs and her behind under her flouncy dress. He lifted one of her legs up and ground his hardness against her center. They were completely all over themselves. They barely entered the hallway of her home that John closed the door with his back and locked it; he wrapped Lisa in his arms and kissed her with passion. He put his gun on the table.  
He unzipped her dress and slid it along her upper body while he trailed wet kisses on her neck and her shoulders. He pushed down her dress that fell on the floor. She pushed away her dress with her foot. She removed his jacket and threw it on the couch, she fumbled with his tie to unknot it and finally, she succeeded to take it off over his head, scratching his nose. She whispered a little 'sorry' and kissed his nose. John smiled and kept his hands along her sides. She unbuttoned his shirt slowly and took it off of him. She contained her impatience to rip all the clothes he wore. She unbuckled his belt, she unbuttoned his pants. Before she went on to unzip his pants, he turned her to have her back on his chest.

He caressed her shoulders and all along her arms while his lips brushed her nape and he blew in her hair. He sucked her earlobes then he nibbled where her neck and shoulder joined. She breathed and sighed quickly, she moaned under the caresses of his hands and his mouth. His hands encased her breasts and he massaged them in a circle, his mouth and his tongue lavished her neck with voracious kisses and sucks. He rounded her nipples with his palms, sending tingles directly in her sex. His hands roamed over her sides up and down. She bent her head back on his shoulder and she put her hands on his. He tenderly caressed her belly and went down into her panty between her legs, touching her clit. His warm and wet lips drew a line of kisses along her back while he kneeled behind her. He slowly lowered her panty that fell on her feet. She stepped out of it. He continued to lightly caress her clit while his mouth kissed and licked gently her buttocks. She felt a wet wave running between her legs.

"John.." She breathed with a croaky voice.

His hand cupped her sex and it moistened with her wetness. He turned her face to him and kissed her folds, he licked her entrance and savored the droplets of her arousal. She moved her fingers in his short hair. He stood up and picked her up in his arms. He headed to the bedroom. He placed her in the middle of the bed and laid him beside her, he kissed her deeply in her mouth, his hand caressing her belly, she moaned in frustration.

"John, get naked, please." She demanded gently.

"After, baby." He breathed.

He caressed her shoulders and her sides with his long and thin fingers, then her breasts, he sucked them one by one and nibbled her nipples.

"Oh, John, John. I missed you." She murmured, arching her back and rolling her hands around his head.

"These lovely full-rounded breasts are mine." He whispered with emotion.

She succeeded to roll up his undershirt until his shoulders and to force him to take it off. He lifted his head up and smiled.

"In a hurry, my love?" He sighed between two loving sucks.

She deep sighed. He continued his way down, licking her belly and mouthing her navel, pressing the flesh of her hips. Her breath raced under his caresses, his warm hands and mouth on her body drove her insane. She palmed his shoulders and his arms and she felt his muscles playing under her hands. He got off the bed and kneeled before the side of it; he grasped her thighs and slid her body on the edge of the bed, her feet touched the floor. He took off her shoes. He parted her legs and bent them on his shoulders, grasping her hips with his hands. He nibbled and licked her inner thighs with delicateness while his hands softly massaged her belly. He looked up at her who was resting on her forearms and she was watching him doing so lovely things to her. She parted her lips, waiting for the breaking wave that would submerge her soon.

"It may be between your legs, but it belongs to me." John murmured between her spread legs.

He bent his head on her sex and licked her folds in every sense, entering his tongue between the labias and sucking softly them. Her sex smelled the perfume she usually used and he liked it. He sucked her clit and licked it with the tip of his tongue, making circles around it; she jerked her hips, she loudly moaned and she laid on her back and grasped his hair. He maintained her still, blocking her hips with his hands. He slowly dived his tongue into her entrance and tasted her wetness. She tasted like the sugar water, never he had tasted a lady like her. This had already surprised him the first time and he loved it. His tongue danced inside her and she wanted to dance with it but she couldn't move a bit under his iron grip. She rolled her head from left to right, shouting his name and attempting to untie his hands. He plunged his tongue deeper into her and began a forth and back rhythm that made her crazy. His steamy mouth was glued to her sex and his tongue twisted and moved forward and backward without rest, again and again. A mixed sensation of pleasure and pain birthed in her lower belly as if her orgasm was ready to burst but was prevented to do. She suddenly panicked at this new painful physical emotion she never experienced before.

"Please, John, stop, stop." She implored, trying to move up in order to unplug his mouth from her.

He didn't stop. He was good in oral sex and he adored going down on her but she was so sensitive that channeling her emotions seemed impossible. His tongue continued thrusting into her inside deeper and deeper while she unsuccessfully tried to undo his hands from her hips. Suddenly, a scorching wave spread in her belly and rounded to her core; a great shiver ran all over her body; she tightened her thighs, encasing John's head between them. The heat burned her sex and she cried his name when the strongest orgasm exploded into her core like a bomb.

"JJOOOHHNN"

John drank the tremors of her walls while his tongue continued to twist into her; he fingered her clit to extend her pleasure. When she was coming back to Earth, he kissed tenderly her folds. He undressed and crawled on the bed. He slid her in the middle of the mattress and laid on his side, beside her, he caressed her body, up and down and kissed her eagerly on her mouth. She closed her eyes and murmured:

"You are terribly impressive, John."

"So you are. You loved it, baby?" He whispered, snuggling against her.

"Yes, it was so.."

"So what?" His lips caressed her cheek.

"It was too.."

"Too what? Tell me." He insisted with softness, trailing his thumb on her lips.

"It was so deep, too strong, you never did like that before." She confessed.

"There is always a first time at everything. I have so much to give you, baby." He said with some pride, taking her mouth into his.

He rolled on her and covered her body with his.

"I want it real slow, John." She murmured.

"How slow, baby?"

"So slow I can feel you entering my soul." She exhaled.

He was hard as iron when he penetrated her. The moment he entered her slowly, inch by inch, deep, deep inside her, sliding and filling every space, she bit down hard on his shoulder, moaning with pure delight. He locked his eyes with hers.

"John, when you look at me that way, I feel so beautiful."

"You are beautiful." He sighed deeply in his chest. His hands slid up and down her arms, caressing her softly.

"So damned beautiful." He repeated.

"So are you." She put a hand to his bare chest, tracing the defined ridges of his musculature.

"Like a diamond. Hard and gleaming, and cut with all these exquisite facets. Inside...pure, brilliant fire." She murmured.

She sighed his name and bounced her hips up to take him deeper into her. He smiled and entwined their fingers on each side of her head. He thrust into her softly and slowly and she drove to meet his movements each by each.

"Open your thighs wider. Yes, like that, my love. Hmmm." He pushed his cock deeper into her and moaned with pleasure to stretch her so widely.

He watched through the gap between their bodies and he near lost his grip, seeing her belly and her hips dancing under him and his moist penis sliding in and out her inside like a snail. His emotion strongly increased as the heat of the sun in the desert and his cock jerked as a whip.

"Aaaahhh, baby, you are terrible." He murmured in agony of joy.

He growled and he pressed his chest against her breasts, he gave her a long soft burning kiss, coordinating the movements of his tongue with the thrusts of his cock. They moaned in their mouths while he continued to slide in and out of her lazily.

"John, fly us.." She prayed.

He let go of their entwined hands and clasped her in his strong arms, sliding out her inside completely then sliding in slowly, over and over. She lost her control, she gripped his head and bit his neck like a tigress bit its prey. He escaped from her teeth grasp in biting her ear.

"Oh my God, you hurt me, John." She complained.

"You want to fight me, my lovely tigress, I'm not going let you win." He murmured hotly in her ear.

He controlled himself to not bounce faster, deeper, harder. Instead, he kept the snail rhythm restlessly till their orgasms raised and burned in their bellies. She called him:

"John, John, I love you." She whispered when she shivered and trembled.

"I love you too." John replied softly, stroking deeply in her center, appealing her orgasm to explode around his cock.

"Oh my.." She shouted, arching her back.

Her clenching walls shook and tightened his penis that jerked in expelling his semen. A harsh sound rumbled in the back of his throat when he called her name:

"HHUUMMM, Lisa, baby." They exploded wildly together.

John slumped onto her out of energy. She circled her arms around his back and kissed him with softness. He kissed her back in a floating mood. They landed on Earth a few minutes later.

"You killed me tonight and you bit my neck like a tigress."

"You ate my ear." She replied with a laugh.

"And something else, hmmm." He whispered and they smiled at his innuendo.

"My soul met yours, and it was heaven, John." She breathed.

"And what did they talk about?" He joked.

"They want to meet again and again, always again and forever again."

She kissed him long, pouring in her kiss all the love she had for him.

"Hmmm, my lady, how I love you." John confessed in her mouth.

They cuddled under the sheets and slumped in a comfortable sleep.

* * *

Thanks for reading, let me guess what you think of this chapter. Zoe shortly appears to notice that John changed. John and Lisa are very much in love (I'm happy for them). Between the numbers that never stop coming and the Riviere enterprise growth and the promises, they will now hardly find time to spend together. Stay with me.


	19. Chapter 19 City Break

Enjoy a day off with Lisa and John. A lovely 'city break' (this is the same word in French) all people do. I didn't mind that around New York there were such great places.

Warning: a few lines on a hot embrace, if you dislike, you jump over them.

* * *

Chapter 19

This was the day off for John. He woke up with Lisa in his arms, she was glued to him like a sea star on an immersed rock. He smiled at the analogy that surged through his mind, watching her position on him that undoubtedly portrayed this image. She was sprawled on her stomach, half on him, her head pillowed on his chest, her arms encasing his torso, her leg between his. He was trapped in her tender embrace, he didn't want to escape from it, in contrary, he held her tightly. He caressed her long hair, her arms and kissed her head, he felt so happy with her that he thought it wasn't real.

When he had woken up in the middle of the night, he had held her tightly in his arms; she had woken up too and they had made love passionately. Then they had showered and back in the bed, she had gone down on him; she had propelled him into heaven; he had seen stars and he had roared her name like a lion. Then she had kissed every inch of his face and his neck and she had repeated to him a million times that she loved him, that he belonged to her forever.

He remembered the moment when Finch had pinned her image on the glass board in the library. He had thought that she looked very pretty and attractive; the first time he had seen her at JFK airport, he had judged her more than pretty; she had already invaded his heart; knowing about her background, he had sensed that she was undeniably compatible with him. All the days he had spent for following her had been pure bliss despite the stress of the risks and the danger. Every time he had touched her, shivers had run along his spine.

Their first night of passion had been an explosive storm he wasn't prepared for. He had had many women but no one was so genuine, loving and skilled as she was. She had surprised him. She had fulfilled him beyond his expectations. She had unearthed emotions that he thought he couldn't feel again. She had given him a new birth, a new hope, a new world, her world.

She had saved his life and Shaw's. She had killed for them. She had used her body as a shield to protect him. She would have sacrificed herself for him. She had taken care of him and Shaw.

He had nothing to offer to her, not even a name, but he would love her as much as he could, he would protect her, he would never leave her. Despite this, today he knew that they were both strong enough to go forward and build something solid. He sighed in contentment.

She moved over him and she kissed him on his neck then she mumbled:

"Morning, treasure. I'm hungry."

John held a laughter back, but the trembles of his chest betrayed him.

"What is funny, John? She asked sleepily.

"I would believe hearing Shaw complaining about her empty stomach." He replied.

"Please, would it be possible you prepare the breakfast and coffee, my treasure?" She gently demanded him.

"Yes, sweetheart, after you give me a nice morning kiss." John murmured, cupping her cheeks in his hands.

They kissed nicely, long and soft. John got off the bed and strode to the bathroom, he quickly showered and shaved. In the mirror he admired the teeth marks on his shoulder and his neck that stamped the heat of Lisa's passion for him; her love bites would remind him for days the bonding of this night. A towel wrapped around his waist, he forwarded to the kitchen and prepared a pot of coffee and breakfast, American and European breakfast. Twenty minutes later he called Lisa.

"Breakfast is done, sweetie." He shouted.

She got off the bed and took her robe in the bathroom. She yawned and walked toward the kitchen.

"Come on here, my love, you sleepyhead this morning." John smiled, he sat her on his lap and rocked her as a little child.

"Hummm, it's so good to be with you this morning, I would like this every day." She whispered, nestling against him.

"Me too, honey. Eat your breakfast." He said, kissing her cheek.

"Oh my god! What are that bruises?" She exclaimed with surprise, looking at his neck and his shoulder.

"Baby, this night you 'marked' your territory." He laughed merrily.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, John." She kissed the bruises on his neck and his shoulder.

"Don't be upset, my love, I loved it, getting bit is pretty much the hottest thing ever. I won't complain if you do it again." He murmured in her neck in a soft low voice.

"Treasure, what about a picnic?" She asked while she sipped her milked coffee and ate a John's made pancake.

"It's a good idea. We can visit the *Bear Mountain Park. It's 50 miles north of New York City. Two hours by car."

"John, are we going to meet bears?" She asked with concern.

"Yes, certainly but Bear Mountain is so-named because the profile of the mountain resembles a bear lying down." He smiled wide.

"But if we meet a big bear, what do we do? She insisted.

"I won't kneecap it. I never meet a bear but.. we can climb into a tree." He joked.

"You are laughing at me." She pouted.

"We will see, honey. Perhaps we will never see one." He said smiling.

"I gonna call David, the owner of the bar restaurant nearby my home. He will prepare us a picnic with beverages."

She called David and ordered a picnic for two, she specified one vegan. Then she showered and dressed while John dressed in Jeans, a tee shirt and a sweatshirt on his shoulders. He put his gun in the back of his waistband under his tee Shirt. She prepared a large blanket, paper towels, plastic glasses, dishes and cutlery and she put all in a bag.

"Done." She said to John.

"Let's go." He commanded.

While John cleaned the bag up in the trunk, she hurried into the bar to get the picnic and paid it.

John drove toward Bear Mountain Park. Two hours later, they arrived in the rugged mountains rising from the west bank of the Hudson River. The park offered nature in all of its glory. The site was welcoming more visitors every year than Yellowstone National Park. It featured a large play field, shaded picnic groves, lake and river fishing access, a swimming pool, Trailside Museums and Zoo, hiking, boating, picnicking, biking and cross-country ski trails. The Perkins Memorial Tower atop Bear Mountain afforded spectacular views of the park, the Hudson Highlands and Harriman State Park.

"How beautiful it looks, John." She looked around her at the vast green landscape, with mountains and forests.

Then she read the wooden bulletin board near the shop and she shivered:

\- BEAR ATTACK: -  
Are you Prepared to Avoid One?

BE ALERT  
MAKE NOISE  
CARRY BEAR SPRAY  
AVOID HIKING ALONE  
DO NOT RUN

During a surprise encounter - slowly back away  
If the bear charges - stand your ground & use your bear spray  
If the bear attacks during a surprise encounter - play dead  
If the bear persistently stalks you and attacks - fight back  
If a bear attacks you in your tent - fight back

\- There is no guarantee of your safety in the bear country -

"This isn't reassuring." She stuttered and she looked at John who was restraining a laughter.

"Why do you laugh, John?" She demanded.

"You and I aren't out of practice, we just need to buy the bear spray, okay?" They laughed in unison but inside herself, she was really stressed.

"John, how to fight back a bear?" She asked stubbornly.

"I hope we wouldn't have to get into it." He entered the store to buy a bear spray.

They searched for a quiet grove to install and picnic. When they found it, at the edge of a wood, they spread the blanket on the grass and sat on it. Rays of light passed through the foliage and shone the ground. They laid down on the blanket, side by side, and closed their eyes. Their fingers entwined in a tender squeezing.

"It's been a while I didn't feel so free, so good." John exhaled.

She turned her head and gazed at him. His face reflected a peaceful youth, a pure innocence, something angelic; she couldn't contain a tear that shed on the side of her eye. She wiped it promptly, she swallowed hard and felt a sudden sadness, brooding over the few words he just said. Freedom and well-being were two main things John never enjoyed enough. Now, he felt a sort of serenity and she promised herself that she would do her best for him to feel it more and longer.

She rolled onto her side and snuggled against him. She placed her hand on his heart and her head on his shoulder. He was hers and she wished to make him happy, free and good forever. Secretly deep in herself, she wanted to give him a family but she didn't know if he had this need, with his line of work.. This idea tortured her since they lived apart. Her body was claiming for his but the real reason was now beyond the sensual desire. She had decided to wait for him to ask.

John was asleep, a little snore chanted in his nose. She deep sighed and stayed silent and light on his shoulder. A butterfly twirled around them and landed on his hair; it fluttered its wings and turned on itself. Lisa remembered from her French Letters studies that the butterfly symbolized profound change and personal transformation. This animal guided you to be sensitive to your personal cycles of expansion and growth, as well as the beauty of life's continuous unfolding. An important message carried by the spirit of the butterfly was about the ability to go through important changes with grace and lightness. She received it as a positive sign in John's life, change and transformation in his life began when they met. The butterfly flew away and landed on her hand. She smiled and thought:

'My life is changing too. John changed me.'

Her heart raced a thousand miles. She watched the butterfly gleaning her hand before it flew away again. One hour later, John sighed and half opened his eyes. He turned his head toward her and kissed her forehead. Her brown hair had auburn highlights that shined as a flame under the sun.

"You are beautiful, my baby." He said with a loving fixed look.

"So you are, my angel." Her voice trembled with emotion.

"What's happened, Lisa? You are trembling, tell me, do you feel bad?" He demanded with concern.

"I love you, my treasure. And I feel good with you. I wish it lasts forever." She whispered.

"We will make it through forever, baby." He kissed her long and deep. She kissed him back feverishly.

"I need to make love to you, sweetheart." He murmured hotly while he sucked her earlobe.

"John, we are in the open. And there are bears."

"Baby, I need you. Come here. Bears aren't a disturbing audience." He stood up, he helped her to get up and they went into hiding in the wood, behind a large tree.

He took off her snickers, her jeans and her panty. He put his gun on the ground. He lowered his pants and his boxer brief just enough to free his throbbing hard penis. He grasped her thighs and lifted her up against him, she clasped her ankles behind his waist to steady herself. Holding her under her butt, he pinned her back against the tree trunk and entered her in one powerful thrust.

"Oh God, John." She cried.

"Sshh, stay silent, my baby." He plugged his mouth onto hers in a burning kiss while his penis slid out and in into her inside at a regular hard rhythm.

He was moaning with pleasure in her mouth and he let escape some lovely words from his.

"Baby, my baby, you're mine."

He thrust into her inside faster, deeper, harder again and again; she moaned at every move he did; she gripped his shoulders then his head. His tongue danced with hers in a sensual way, he sucked her lips in the cadence of his virile member pushed and sank deeper into her; soon she lost her control and began to cry. He took her mouth into his to silence her. He fastened his strokes and quickly flew her in Paradise. She climaxed hard, swallowing his penis between her clenching walls, she screamed his name in his mouth, appealing his orgasm that burst into her in a warm streaming flow.

"AAaahhh, baby, baby, it's so good with you, I love you, babe." He shouted in her mouth, out of breath.

They stayed sex connected until they landed on Earth. He kissed her passionately and said:

"I really think we should do it in the open more often, hmm." They laughed.

He softly slid off of her and let her on her feet. After having adjusted his clothes and put again his gun in the back of his waistband, he helped her to dress. They returned to the area where their picnic and blanket stayed.

"Let see what David put in our picnic." He said in a good mood.

They opened the picnic bag. David had prepared delicious pieces of herring in a light salad sauce with crunchy vegetables, multiple sandwiches with thin beef slices, green salad, tomatoes and mustard, with smoked salmon, tomatoes and mayonnaise, a rich and varied tray of cheeses, fresh bread, pastries desserts, fruits, hot chocolate and coffee in thermos, beers, wine and water bottles in icy plastic bags. A sort of rectangular thin box wrapped in a white paper was encased in the middle of the food. Lisa took it and unwrapped the box. A white rose button showed up in a transparent box with a little message 'All my liking and gratitude. David'.

"How cute he is, look John." She said, handing him the message genuinely.

"What? Cute? He is rather trying to seduce you." John frowned, reading the message.

"No, no, he just wants to thank me for the picnic and because I talk with him about a party he would have to organize in his restaurant for my personal." She explained herself.

"I also do not share what is mine, baby." He warned, locking his eyes with hers.

"You don't trust me, John?" She asked surprisingly.

"Come on here, baby, I trust you, I'm just a little upset that this guy offered you a rose. I gonna to say him a couple of words about it." He rolled his hand behind her neck and he gave her a full and devastating kiss.

"Hmm, I.. love.. roses.. but.. I.. prefer.. your.. kiss." She breathed out of the air.

They ate with a good appetite for the food David prepared for them. This was a delicious lunch that John appreciated a lot.

"Finally, David is good to prepare a picnic, I gonna thank him in person." John insisted and smiled at Lisa.

"You never give up, John."

"Would you have a ride in a boat on the lake?" John changed the conversation.

"It would be great." She replied joyfully.

They packed the remnants of the picnic in the bag, they folded the blanket and cleaned all up in the trunk of the car. They went down the lake and rent a small motor boat, and wore the life jackets. John starts the motor and sailed peacefully on the lake, not too far from the shore. They admired two bald eagles flying high over their heads. John slowed down the boat and stopped it. He stayed sitting behind her, he glued her back against his chest and held her with one arm around her shoulders. With his other arm, he showed her a black bear and his cub wading in the water.

"Look, mommy bear with her baby, she is teaching him how to catch a fish." He murmured softly. Then his arm rolled around her waist and he enlaced her tenderly.

"She won't charge us, John?" She was amazed by the tender scene but she was also on the defensive.

"No, she is too far and she is busy with her baby." He kissed her cheek.

"Lisa..?" John was moved into the deep of himself.

"What?" She demanded as he was suddenly speechless.

"How I love you, my princess." He whispered with his soft-spoken tone and he deep sighed.

"I love you too, my treasure." She replied, caressing his hands.

She turned her head to look at him. He bent his head over hers and kissed her with an exquisite softness. Her heart raced a thousand miles, how she loved him.

John started the motor and continued to sail on the lake with Lisa in his arms. They watched a deer drinking water and an otter floating on its back with its cub on the belly. An hour later they came back to the rental deck. They visited the zoo and a museum that highlighted the area's history, geology and nature. In the shop, Lisa bought two teddy bears, postcards and a booklet about the site.

"Why two teddy bears, Lisa?" John asked.

"Each one, his teddy bear." She simply replied with a laughter, giving him one.

Then they drove up to the Perkins Memorial Drive, a scenic road to the summit of Bear Mountain. They did have to climb several flights of stairs to get to the top of the tower. At the summit, the 40 feet Perkins Memorial Tower provided a view of four states, the skyline of Manhattan, 40 miles to the South, the peaks of the Catskill Mountains to the north and the Taconic Mountains to the East. Detailed photos and murals from each direction allowed then to identify all of the mountains, lakes and features that were surrounding Bear Mountain. They admired the beauty of the large green space with mountains and the lake. The landscape was breathtaking and majestic.

Besides the tower, there was a view on the eastern edge of the summit that overlooked the Bear Mountain Bridge. From there, they could look across the Hudson River to the Highlands in the eastern Hudson Valley.

It was 07:00 pm, they both thought to come back to Manhattan. They forwarded to the parking and drove back to New York. Two hours later, John parked the car in front of Lisa's home. John came out of the car and opened the passenger door to Lisa, then he took the picnic bag and turned toward her.

"Go on, baby, I'll come." He said with a smirk.

"John, don't.." He cut her off.

"Go. on." He repeated.

She frowned and thinned her lips in disapproval. She entered the hall and forwarded to the elevator. John entered the bar restaurant and he asked for David.

"It's me. Happy to help you with anything." David said friendly. David looked like a masculine top model, tall, thin, great face, fashionable.

"Yeah, you can help me to be gentle with you, rather offer this white rose to your woman instead of mine's, okay? Oh, and the picnic was good." John said with a low icy voice and a light smile, putting the white rose and the picnic bag on the counter.

David bit his lower lip, very embarrassed and blushed hard.

"I didn't know Ms. Adrian had someone." He stuttered.

"Now, you know. Don't do it again or you will be very sorry." John hammered.

When he entered Lisa's home, she was showering and humming.

"What do you want for dinner, baby, Asian or Italian takeout?" John demanded while he was gazing at her in the bathroom.

"I prefer Asian dinner. A soup, and shrimps with sweet and sour sauce, please, my treasure." She replied with a little smile.

"You got sunburnt, your face, your neck and your arms are red. Have you some Bepanthen ointment?" He asked her.

"Yes, I think. Order the dinner, John, please. There is a list of restaurants in the kitchen." She replied.

John ordered the Asian dinner to the nearer restaurant. Lisa wore her pajamas and lightly massaged her face with the Bepanthen ointment. Everywhere else, she moistured her skin with her rose perfumed lotion. She put on her robe and went out of the bathroom. John moved forward her and examined her face carefully; he noticed that the skin on her face was burning up. He laid his hand on her forehead.

"Your skin is scorching. You may have the fever. You must take your temperature, baby." He recommended her gently.

"John, it's only a sunburn." She replied with a bit of irritation.

John strode to the bathroom and went back with an oral thermometer he disinfected and he put it in her mouth. She sighed, she wanted to laugh so he was 'doting father' right now, he was always caring about her well-being and she was grateful to him. One minute later, he read the measure on the thermometer.

"What I said, 38.5 C. You have the fever. You eat and go to bed." He commanded and he prepared a glass of water with a soluble Paracetamol tablet.

A knock at the door made them jump. John strode to the door and took his gun in hand. He looked in the peephole. The delivery man brought the order he made at the Asian restaurant. He put his gun away and opened the door. He took the boxes of food, he paid the order and let a twenty to the young delivery man that thanked him with low bows and joined hands. John closed and locked the door. He set the table on the dining table and opened the boxes of food. All was warm so he served Lisa and himself. They ate and discussed their today trip. He drank a beer, he served water to Lisa and commanded her to drink a lot. He had ordered 'Crispy Orange Chicken' with rice for him and he appreciated the sophisticated dish.

"Do you appreciate the soup and shrimps, baby?" He demanded gently.

"Yes, it's good but I'm not too hungry." She replied. She felt suddenly very tired.

He stood up and walked to her. He picked her up in his arms and forwarded to her bedroom. He opened the comforter and laid her in the middle of the bed. He covered her and caressed her forehead, she was still warm. He went to the kitchen to bring her bottles of water. Then he cleaned the dining table and he made the dishes. He entered the bathroom, he undressed and showered. He put his gun on the nightstand and turned off the lights. He went to bed and laid down on his side. He took Lisa in his arms.

"You feel better, baby?" He softly murmured.

"John, sometimes I feel I'm your little child." She whispered in his neck.

"I would have loved to have a child... like you." He hastened to correct, tightening her stronger.

She snuggled against him and snaked her arms around his neck. She offered him her lips to get a kiss. He caressed her jaw with his long and fine fingers then he kissed her delicately as she was a China vase.

"John."

"What do you want, baby, ask?" He breathed in his mouth.

"I want you, John." She was shivering.

"Not tonight, you are feverish, it's not good to be agitated, the fever can raise higher. Now we sleep, my baby." He commanded gently, wrapping her in his strong arms.

* * *

Thanks for reading, feel free to tell me what you think of this chapter. Mountain Bear Park is a great site to visit. John and Lisa spend a good city break before being swallowed by the craziness of their daily life.

*Bear Mountain: if you are interested, search on youtube "Bear Mountain State Park".


	20. Chapter 20 Special Ladies

After the City Break, our pair is saying goodbye in the morning. They don't imagine staying apart too long or too far. I describe a course where I never go, so I take the information on the Internet. Hope you will not be bored and it will give you the envy to try as it gives to me. I sense that it is interesting to plant the context when a case involves a teacher.

Warning: love scenes at the beginning of the chapter, if you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 20

The warmth of Lisa's forehead was the first thing John checked when he woke up. He was relieved that the fever seemed having vanished during the night. He remembered when she told him to feel like his little child because he was caring for her. Coddling her gave her back her childlike innocence. But he naturally took care of her, this wasn't in the purpose to infantilize her or to strip her of her responsibilities, he was like that, it was him.

He sighed and looked at her pretty sleepy face nestled on his shoulder; he felt her warm breath caressing his chest and her little fingers fidgeting on his side. He waited for her to wake up, to move her head up and to kiss him good morning. She fluttered her eyelids before she half-opened her hazel-green eyes and closed them again. Finally, she moved her head up and murmured a soft 'morning, treasure'; she climbed onto him and laid on top of him, she cupped his face in her hands and kissed him soft and deep. He kissed her back hungrily and rolled her on her back.

"Baby, my little baby, I love you more than yesterday." He laid on top of her, he ground his hard erection on her belly and gripped her wrists on each side of her head.

He plunged his blue-grey eyes into hers and brushed his lips all over her face, on her forehead, her eyelids, her cheekbones, her nose, her cheeks, her chin. He brought her mouth to his and said:

"I am going to kiss you until the only name you will ever taste is mine."

Finally, he took her lips in his soft and warm mouth. He kissed her in the most delicious long way he ever had. She moaned and gazed at him with her intense look. Without breaking the kiss, he took her pajamas off her with his delicate fingers. When he entered her and filled her completely, her heart swelled and melted down from her body. She sighed his name warmly while he murmured her in her ear:

"You are the light of my life." He moved into her softly and slowly, twisting his hips in sweet circles.

His warm breath brushed her face, his parted lips appealed hers in a burning kiss. He made love to her as an angel, he was light and loving, precise and caressing, giving and taking. His body became heavier when he thrust harder and longer, again and again, to fly her higher than ever. When her orgasm exploded, she screamed his name in a sob. He fastened and hardened his strokes to join her, he gave her his warm life liquid and he shouted sweetly her name in her neck. When they were slowly landing on Earth, she grasped his head and bent it toward her, she kissed him in his short hair.

"Lisa, I couldn't live without you baby, I wouldn't want to." John sighed.

"Neither I, John." She replied.

"Life was no easy game to play until the day you crossed my way, you know that, my baby." He held her tightly against him and rested his head on her chest. He heard Lisa's heart beating stronger and stronger against his ear.

"I know you love me and I love you too, stronger than ever. You are the most precious thing in my life." John continued to murmur to her. He felt the surge of his desire spread again over his body and ignite the fire in hers.

"Come inside me, my love, I need you to love me more than ever." She begged him, gripping his arms.

He took her in his arms and they made love a second time. After a while, she turned passionately wild and demanding while he wildly gave her his passionate love strokes. She screamed his name louder and he died of pleasure in her arms. They came down from their heights, lovingly entwined and they couldn't stop kissing each other. They couldn't let themselves go.

"You may be hungry, I gonna make the breakfast, treasure, go and shower." Finally, she murmured and she kissed him on his nose. She got out of bed grudgingly. He grasped her arm and pulled her down back on the bed.

"Please, kiss me again, babe." He begged and kissed her as a starving man. She kissed him back with passion, retaining a content smile.

She went to the bathroom to quickly shower and she put on her bathrobe. Then she went to the kitchen to prepare the breakfast and a pot of coffee while he strode in the bathroom to shower. She heard him humming the song of Larry Graham 'Just Be My Lady' and whistling it when he didn't remember the words.

"Just Be My Lady - And everything will be alright  
Just Be My Lady - I will love you every day and night  
Just Be My Lady - I promise you everything will be alright  
Just Be My Lady - That's really what you are to do  
Just Be My Lady - This love I have was meant for you  
Just Be My Lady - Everything you ask me sweetheart I'll do for you

My Promise to you is I'll always be true  
No matter what No One, No One tries to do  
To death do us part you can have my heart forever  
And that's a Long, Long time

Just Be My Lady - I'm saying all I'm gonna say  
Just Be My Lady - Just take my hand and I'll lead the way  
Just Be My Lady - There's no never time to start than today, today

Just Be My Lady  
Of Mine  
Just Be My Lady  
Of Mine"

Lisa was listening to John with such an admiration on how he sang in tune with a so nice voice. His sounding was radiating throughout her body, it made her heart raced. The words meant to her. She forgot the sausages and the bacon she was cooking in the frying pan, the smell of burning brought her back to reality.

"Oh my God, what he does to me this morning." She chucked out all in the trash can and she cooked again an American breakfast with pancakes maple syrup, toasts, Cumberland sausages, bacon, sweet potato, fried eggs, and tomato mushroom.

He went out of the bathroom in all his glory, drying his hair with a large towel and he forwarded to the dressing room. He dressed in his usual black suit and perfect white shirt. In the kitchen, he sat before the large plate breakfast and the bowl of coffee Lisa served him.

"You burned and cooked again the breakfast, honey, I'm so good this morning?" He joked.

"So good in all you do, treasure. You sing as you did it all your life." She replied merrily.

"This is one of my secret, sweetheart. Oh, what a delicious breakfast. Come here, baby." He said, taking her hand.

She walked around the table; he sat her on his lap and kissed her chest in her cleavage, wandering and roaming his hands on her thighs. Then he locked his blue-grey eyes with hers. She looked into his eyes and there was a whole lot going on. It made her imagine a lot of things. He gave her a large smile, showing his dazzling aligned white teeth. He sweetened her milked coffee and turned the spoon in it. Then he fed her with a pancake while he ate sporadically his breakfast with appetite.

"You like to feed me, John." She said with a happy smile.

"Yes, and I know you love it, hmm." He replied, plunging his eyes into her mouth.

"It's highly sensual you know, and with you, it's even more than erotic." She whispered in his ear.

"Oh, you want I show you what is more than erotic?" He demanded in a suave voice.

At this moment, his phone rang. John sighed and took the call.

"Mr. Reese, good morning. I hope I don't disturb you." Finch said with a noble voice.

"Good morning, Finch." John greeted, kissing her breast through the fabric of her robe.

"We have a new number. I wait for you to the library."

"I'm on my way." John answered, closing the call.

Lisa swallowed her frustration and rolled her arms around his neck. She stuck her head against his and she kissed him all over his face. She looked at him with shining eyes. He was going to put his life online again. She couldn't handle this without pain and fear anymore.

"Treasure, when will you stop to risk your life? Do you think you can go on for long? You are in your mid-forty, life is short, John, I need you, I want you to find a way to me, you promised me." She pleaded gently.

"I promised to stay with you as often as I can. I can't let down my job, saving people is my purpose, it's what I am, baby." He murmured to her, rocking her body in his arms. He trailed kisses all along her arms and shoulders, her neck and face. He took her mouth to his for a full and devastating kiss. They moaned in pleasure to touch themselves so lovingly. She straddled him on his lap and she cupped his cheeks in her hands; she locked her hazel-green eyes with his and she kissed him passionately, deep and demanding. She felt his hard erection pushing against her center and his arms roaming over her back.

"Lisa, I have to go, baby." He breathed in her mouth with a deep moan.

She had never felt so alive sitting on him; the air crackled with electricity. Every cell was on fire inside her and all she could think of was leaning over and placing her burning lips on his neck, half-beating, half-kissing him, she wanted to kiss him wildly like he has never been kissed before, breathing life back into his soul, until his only desire at this moment was to have her, make her his.

"Stay with me, a little longer, John." She murmured, unbuckling his belt, unbuttoning and unzipping his pants.

She slid her hand in his boxer brief and took his hard throbbing penis in it; she fondled him till he couldn't resist her anymore; he lowered his clothes just enough to allow her taking him inside her warm and soft home. He exhaled a groan of pleasure to fill her so fully; when she moved on him, he closed his eyes and let her love him as a goddess. She slid upward and downward, over and over, riding him soft and long, kissing his face and his neck. He was moaning under her strokes, his lips parted to let the sighs of bliss come out of his throat. He was abandoned in her arms, his hands were pressing the flesh on her hips.

"John, open your eyes, look at me, treasure." She pleaded.

"It's so good, baby." He whispered, on the edge to come, half-opening his eyes.

He kissed the hollow oh her neck before to open her robe and he sucked her breasts one by one. She pushed harder onto him, her inside slid up and down his penis in a vibrational harmony. Her movements became harder and faster; she rode him blissfully, his cock was hitting her G spot, she drove him insane; he slowly regained the control he previously let to her and he led her crazy, out of control, straight to the Paradise. She screamed his name when her walls gripped his virile member; she felt his penis jerked inside her when he gave her his warm semen and sighed her name. She kept back her sobs and held him tightly in her arms. They landed slowly on Earth.

"You are amazing, my baby, I love you so much." He exhaled in a long sigh.

"It's not my intention to impress you. No, I want to make you feel something you will never forget for the rest of your life. Together with you is my favorite place to be." She breathed in his ear. Then she kissed him all over his face.

"Remind me how lucky I am to have someone as special as you." John murmured with emotion.

He kept her in his embrace and gazed at her with a soft loving look. He caressed her face and her long hair and took her mouth in his in a long and deep kiss. They couldn't let themselves apart.

"I have to go, baby." He whispered for the second time. She slowly slid off of him and stood up.

He adjusted his clothes and smiled at her. He stood up and went to the bedroom to take away his gun in the back of his waistband and wore his jacket. Before coming out, he held Lisa tightly in his arms and he caressed her hair in the back of her neck.

"I promise to come back as soon as I can, my baby."

"I love you, John. Promise me to be careful, my treasure." She claimed, gripping his shoulders.

"Sure, my love, I promise." He lifted her up against him and they kissed the last time desperately.

"Baby, I want you to secure your entrance door with an alarm system and more locks, okay?" He warned before releasing her on her feet and he left.

* * *

On his way to the library, John stopped to a florist. He ordered one hundred red roses to be delivered to Lisa's home.

"She must be a very special lady." The woman florist said with a shy smile.

"Yes, she is very special, she loves me." John replied with a soft smile.

"Do you want to write a message?" The florist sighed and looked at John with kindness and awe.

"Of course." He said and took the envelope and rose paper she was handing him.

John wrote a few lines:

'To express my true everlasting love  
Without limits for you,  
Since the first day I saw you,  
One rose for each day,  
And more for the days coming.

Words are not enough to say  
How much I love you every day  
My thoughts, my feelings are for you,  
My wishes, my kisses are for you.  
My care, my prayers are with you.  
My life and my being are for you  
And above all my love is true  
And it's just for you.

You are my everything I love you forever.

J.'

He put the letter in the envelope and closed it. He paid the florist and let a generous tip. He went out of the florist and drove to the coffee shop to buy the beverages for his partners and some donuts. He thought of Lisa and his heart ached that she always worried about him and his safety. She will be surprised to receive the bunch of red roses with the love message. When he arrived at the library, Finch was sitting at his computer and typing frenetically on his keyboard. Shaw was cleaning her gun meticulously.

"Good morning." Finch greeted.

"Good morning, Finch, Shaw." John replied, handing them their beverages.

"Hi, Reese. You looked blissful this morning. Too much yoga?" Shaw joked.

"Shaw, come and learn about the doors yoga can open in your life." John answered with a knowing look.

Finch retained a laughter when he heard John humoring with Shaw. The good mood of the two warmed his mind and the air of the library.

"Who is our number, Finch?" John asked, sipping his coffee.

On the glass board, Finch pinned the photo of a pretty classy blond woman, turquoise blue eyes, long hair, seductive and warm smile. Shaw opened wide her eyes and mouth in front of the beautiful angel face, her coffee went down the wrong way and she coughed. John and Finch turned to look at her with an interrogative gaze and they rolled their eyes.

"Alice Robinson. She is forty, single, she lived in Midtown. She is a certified yoga teacher and offers yoga classes of a unique style called, 'Yoga for Renewal' which mixes the style of yoga she learned in France, and the style she learned here and practiced in the United States. She guides her students to master their spiritual, mental and physical bodies through proper alignment and a meditative flow. She works at AtthenaYoga Studio, located in the heart of Midtown Manhattan 43 W. 46th Street, 3rd Floor, between 5th and 6th Avenue." Finch reported.

"French or American?" Shaw asked.

"She is American. She studied yoga techniques in France for three years and returned to the USA. Her parents live in Washington. Her father works at the White House. I couldn't go through to know what position his job gives him. I need to investigate this by myself. I fear that you are going to experiment Yoga for Renewal classes to help you reach your personal best. According to the planning, I just booked you classes from 11:00 am to 12:00 am with Ms. Alice Robinson for a week. You need appropriate clothing, please go and buy them before classes." Finch returned back to his computer.

"Finch, do you think that we really need to have yoga classes?" John demanded, caressing his chin.

"Reese, I'm interested." Shaw claimed vehemently.

"Mr. Reese, Yoga is dedicated to helping you find your inner peace and calm. This is all bonus for both of you." Finch weighed his words to convince John.

John sighed and he walked toward the library exit, followed by Shaw. In the parking, Shaw wanted to drive as usual. They drove to Midtown Manhattan, searching for a sports shop to buy adequate clothes for the yoga classes. John's phone beeped, this was a message from Lisa.

'My love, who else would think of doing something as crazy as this, I love it. You are such an extraordinary man in all what you do, Cheri (darling). All these red roses and your tremendous lovely message made me tearful. I can't stop to cry. Every beat of my heart keeps me getting closer to you. I will never stop loving you. You are my everything, John and you will always be.'

John was moved by the message of Lisa. His heart pounded in his chest and he swallowed hard when he wrote his reply.

'Baby, you're my world, you are my night and day, you are my breath. I have so much love to give you than one life wouldn't be enough. I long for you holding me, I yearn for you loving me, I pray for you wanting me forever.'

"Keep your eyes on the road, Shaw." John commanded Shaw when she dropped her look on his phone.

'John, you are the only one and the last I need to my side forever. No way I let you go without me anywhere. We are meant for each other.'

'The first time I saw you, my heart whispered 'that's the one'; baby, thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for making me smile like crazy. Thank you for making me happy.'

'John, you don't have to thank me. You are giving me a sight of our future. I just hope you stay with me forever.'

'The day I will go on knees for another girl...is the day I will tie a shoelace for our daughter.'

A little lapse of time spent before she replied.

'John, I know you will be a great Dad.'

'I kiss you everywhere, baby, I can't wait to see you soon. I must leave you now. I love you, babe.'

'Love you too, treasure. Kiss you, my love.'

Their conversation ended. John was stunned at how he let his guard down with her, confessing his secret dream so easily. The time they spent together lastly brought them to heaven. He sensed a feeling beyond the sensual attraction, a feeling of fulfillment to which he wanted to add something, she would have added something too, something that would have belonged to both of them, something common and precious, something he thought of strongly each time he made love to her, something she would feed in her core as a treasure. He smiled and deep sighed.

They arrived at the sports shop and parked the car. In the shop, they chose some clothes to attend the yoga classes. They paid and walked outside toward their car to go to the Atthenayoga studio. They parked the car in a little lot and they entered the building. On the third floor, they rang and entered the hall and they forwarded to the front desk area. There were welcomed by Alice. She greeted them with a bright smile and she gazed at John with an admirative look then at Shaw with a tender look.

"Please, give me your names. Have experienced yoga before?" She asked while she typed on her computer.

"Never." Shaw answered with a shy smile.

"Sometimes." John said.

"Okay." Alice agreed, with a soft smile.

"This morning is a dedicated opening class to yoga. There are ten students. Please, change your clothes in the dressing room and barefoot. Thank you. The class takes place in the large room in two minutes." She said, showing then the large closed door.

John and Shaw changed clothes in the dressing room: black yoga leggings and grey sleeveless tee shirt for Shaw, black yoga pants and long sleeves tee shirt for John. They strode to the classroom and stayed in the back of the room where they had a full sight of all the students and the door. They both sat on their mat.

Alice was standing right in front of the students and welcomed all of them. She wore black yoga leggings and a tee-shirt that contrasted with her blond hair and her clear skin. Then she began her speech about yoga.

"Renewal requires opening yourself up to new ways of thinking and feeling. Before yoga, my head would never shut up! I felt anxious and uncomfortable. I stressed about the future and regretted the past. I was wound so tightly, took myself way too seriously and carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. I hardly ever laughed. Morning yoga taught me to breathe, to connect and to find space. My intention for this fitness channel is to help you quiet your mind and get comfortable in your own skin. Let go of the past and the future and get present on your mat. If you're having a rough day, find some relief here. If you're beating yourself up, roll out your mat, push play and know that everything's going to be alright."

She walked through the mats lightly like an elf.

"I firmly believe that it is important to take a step back before we transition into a new season. However, in our very busy society, it is hard to slow down and allow yourself time to process. I hope this yin sequence serves as your permission slip to take 60 to 75 minutes for yourself. Use this time to look back on the joyful times, the broken times, and the times that felt neutral. Practice gratitude for all of it. You made it through. I love the verses in Romans that state, 'Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.' May you feel the abundance of God s love for you as you close out this beautiful journey called life."

She went in front of John and Shaw, she gazed at them with soft scrutinizing eyes. She walked gracefully in front of the students and she showed the first pose.

"Allow your body and mind to rest into these poses and find an intention you would like to set before you. Enjoy and have a very wonderful day."

"The Seated Hero, 5 minutes. Make your way into a seated position with the knees bent and sit either evenly on the heels, or open the feet wide enough to sit on a block or to the floor in between the feet. Find a tall spine and settle the hands into the lap. Breathe deeply here for several minutes as you focus your attention on the present moment. Showing up simply to do your best on a moment-by-moment basis. Let that be your only expectation today as you practice."

"Reclined Hero / Supported Bridge, 5 minutes. From here, remain in hero pose if there is no pain and begin to work your way into a reclined hero or Saddle pose. You can support your spine with more props if you are elevating the hips. Alternatively, supported bridge pose with the block under the sacrum is a nice alternative to gently opening the front body."

Her body was flexible like a liana.

"Butterfly, 5 minutes. Wherever you are, slowly and mindfully make your way back to seated and come into butterfly pose, legs in a diamond shape. You can support either knee with blocks if it helps alleviate any unnecessary aches here. Fold forward in your own time, being mindful of sensations as they come and go."

She looked at the students, searching for one who needed help.

"Deer Twist and Neck Release, 1 minute. From butterfly, make your way back upright. Draw the knees together and hug them in close or windshield wiper them side to side. Eventually, drop both knees over to the right so that the right foot rests next to the left thigh. Begin to twist the torso over to the right placing the left hand on the right knee and the left hand behind the hip. Stay here and breathe several rounds of the complete breath. As an option, you can gently drop the right ear toward the right shoulder to stretch the left side of the neck. Relax the jaw here."

She was extremely graceful and Shaw was gazing at her keenly, drinking her words, very applicated in making the poses. John smirked as she looked at him. She shrugged.

"Belly Twist, 4 minutes. Stay twisted OR come back to neutral for a few breaths. Begin to transition back to the right side and walk the hands forward as the chest melts toward the floor in front of that right thigh. You can rest onto a prop or just come to the forearms. Be gentle and mindful as you twist."

Alice's guidance was full of softness and kindness. Suddenly, John felt an irresistible envy to lay on the mat and take a nap.

"Deer Fold / Half Pigeon (Swan), 5 minutes. Come back to center and maybe take a gentle counter twist to the left side if needed. We will stay in this shape to fold over the front right thigh OR you can move the left leg behind you and come into half pigeon pose instead if you are craving that release in the front of the hip joint."

"Repeat Deer Twist and Neck Release through Deer Fold / Half Pigeon on the other side before moving on."

Here, Shaw was lost in her thoughts and sights and she didn't know where to begin the pose. Alice came to her and showed her the pose, roaming her hands over her body to correct the wrong positions. Then she gazed at John and murmured :

"You practiced for how long?"

"Some..months." He replied with a soft voice.

"You are a very good student." She continued to coach Shaw then she walked toward other students to give her support.

"Half Butterfly Fold, 5 minutes. Begin to extend the right leg forward and plug the left foot into the right inner thigh in a half butterfly shape. As always, utilize props here as needed. Begin to fold forward over the extended leg and let the chest and head be heavy here as you find stillness. Once you complete this side, move right into the other."

Shaw was in awe of the yoga teacher. She was fond now of yoga classes.

"Shaw, stop to stare at her like that, she can be suspicious."

"Pff, she has eyes only for you, Reese. What have you more than me?" Shaw snarled in a murmur.

John shook his head and rolled his eyes; he retained a fit of the giggles.

"Banana Pose, 2 minutes each side. Release the crossed leg position and stretch the legs forward and arms overhead. Walk the left heel to the left corner of the mat and take the right ankle and cross it over the left. Begin to walk the shoulder blades to the left as well, keep hips grounded in the center and rest in this nice side body stretch."

She executed the pose with elegant gestures. She walked along the mats and correct the wrong poses with her soft hands. Near Shaw, she stopped and congratulated her. She corrected John's posture, roaming her hands on his muscular shoulders. He blushed reluctantly. She slightly smiled at his discomfort and didn't linger on him.

"Savasana and 5 Rounds of Brahmari Breath (10). Savasana or corpse pose. You lie flat on your back with the heels spread as wide as the yoga mat and the arms a few inches away from the body, palms facing upwards. Find your way into a shape you would like to take final relaxation in. Allow yourself a moment to physically settle into stillness and then move through 5 rounds of brahmari breath, exhaling and making the sound of a bee, before releasing into savasana. Spend quality time here allowing your body to absorb the benefits and space created by you doing your best in the past bit of time."

John resisted falling asleep. His eyelids were heavy but he controlled himself to stay awake.

"Savasana and Seated Meditation. Spend 7 to 10 minutes resting in any comfortable Savasana position. Reclined Bound Angle Pose, or Supta Baddha Konasana, is a pose to practice when I need to reconnect with myself and my body. Keep one hand on the heart and one hand on the belly in order to feel the heart beating and the belly rising and falling with each breath, to feel that connection with the breath and the sensations in your body."

She gazed at all the students, her look stopped a few seconds on John before she held the smoldering look of Shaw. She blushed hard and seemed embarrassed. When the time of the pose lapsed, Alice said:

"Savor this feeling and carry it with you into your day allowing it to influence the way you interact, work and live!"

"Namaste." Alice spoke with a slight bow and hands pressed together, palms touching and fingers pointing upwards, thumbs close to the chest. The students answered 'Namaste' and they got up silently.

The class ended silently, students came out of the room, John and Shaw were the last to pass the door. Alice stopped them and remarked:

"You have class every day this week. You can benefit from one hour of a particular class. Just to inform you, if you are interested."

"Yes, we are interested." Shaw hastened to answer.

"My planning shows that you have an opportunity on tonight or tomorrow from 09:00 pm to 10:00 pm."

"Tonight." Shaw commanded.

"I note that in my planning. Have a wonderful day." Alice replied with a large smile.

John and Shaw forwarded to the dressing room to dress in their work clothes. Then they went out of the studio and on the sidewalk. John gripped Shaw's arm.

"What is going on, Shaw? Why do you decide to take another yoga class tonight? We have to investigate in her home." John disagreed with her initiative.

"Sure, I will go alone to yoga and you to her home." Shaw replied.

"We need to work safely, Shaw. I need to have your back, understand? and I'm not a fan of yoga."

"Well, we do yoga at 09:00 pm and before we sneak into her home."

* * *

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment to say your feeling about the chapter. The yoga class may be boring but it may be instructive and awake some envy to enjoy it really. Now the case is going to heat up for our team machine. Before and after night-time yoga they will be under some stress. Stay with me.


	21. Chapter 21 Love And Angst

I balance between the workday of John and Lisa. It's Lisa turn to go to work. Love is growing and absence is an obstacle but it's necessary. It was not so easy for me to promote an ex CIA agent, cold and devoted to his country, a calm world savior, into a burning loving lover. I take it as a challenge. I remind that the love scenes show the real life and that Reese is before all a manly man who dares to express his thirst of love and hope, knowing that he is living on a borrowed time. His lover understands and accepts him as he is and this transcends him. He is able to move mountains for her, Harold is going to have a few difficult time to comprehend the changes.  
Warning: a hot moment in the end, if you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 21

One hour after John left, Lisa heard a knock at her door. When she looked in the peephole, she only saw a mountain of red flowers masking the hallway. She opened the door and the young delivery boy entered her home, holding his delivery with care and admiration.

"Good morning Ms. Adrian. I never delivered such a great bunch of roses. The guy must be very special." He said joyfully, breathing a little.

"Good morning." She replied, awestruck in front of the abundance of flowers that filled the air with their fragrance.

"Let them here." She murmured, showing a table to the boy.

"My boss put the bunch into a special vase, you just have to fill it with water."

"Thank you." She whispered, very moved.

She gave him a generous tip that stirred his lips to his ears. He left her apartment with a respectful salute to which she answered with a soft smile. She closed the door and returned to the table to unfold the transparent paper from the bunch of roses and she filled the vase with water. With a trembling hand, she took the rose envelop and opened it. She got out the letter and sat on the couch to read it.

'To express my true everlasting love  
Without limits for you,  
Since the first day, I saw you,  
One rose for each day,  
And more for the days coming.  
Words are not enough to say  
How much I love you every day  
My thoughts, my feelings are for you,  
My wishes, my kisses are for you  
My care, my prayer are for you,  
My life, my being is for you  
And above all my love is true  
And it's just for you.

You are my everything  
I love you forever.

J.'

Each line, each word went straight to her heart and sent shivers down her spine. John wasn't a man of many words but when he wrote he spoke a lot. Tears filled her eyes, she let them rolled down her cheeks, tears of joy and love for John, her loving lover, her man, her everything. She tried to collect herself, to resist the tsunami that was submerging her: the euphoria to be unconditionally loved by the only man she wanted to spend her life with. She was happy as she had never been. A smile replaced tears. She kissed the letter and pressed it on her heart. Whatever it happened, she would keep it as a cherished moment in her life. She took her phone and started to text John.

'My love, who else would think of doing something as crazy as this, I love it. You are such an extraordinary man in all what you do, Cheri (darling). All these red roses and your tremendous lovely message made me tearful. I can't stop to cry. Every beat of my heart keeps me getting closer to you. I will never stop loving you. You are my everything, John and you will always be.'

'Baby, you're my world, you are my night and day, you are my breath. I have so much love to give you than one life wouldn't be enough. I long for you holding me, I yearn for you loving me, I pray for you wanting me forever.'

She drank his words as they were sugar water.

'John, you are the only one and the last I need to my side forever. No way I let you go without me anywhere. We are meant for each other.'

'The first time I saw you, my heart whispered 'that's the one'; baby, thank you for coming into my life. Thank you for making me smile like crazy. Thank you for making me happy.'

Her heart skipped a beat and she smiled at the reading of his lovely confession.

'John, you don't have to thank me. You are giving me a sight of our future. I just wish you stay with me forever.'

'The day I will go on knees for another girl...is the day I will tie a shoelace for our daughter.'

These wonderful words exploded her heart. She swallowed hard. She read and reread the line. She clearly imagined the scene where he knelt to tie the shoelace of his child. He wrote it so well to inspire her the idea that he wished she was the mother of his child. Her heart raced and pounded in her chest just thinking that he desired a family with her. Finally, when she had decided to wait for him to ask, she was right. But he took her aback, she couldn't figure that would arrive right now. She didn't know how to reply to his admission. Finally, she said what she felt deep inside her.

'John, I know you will be a great Dad.'

'I kiss you everywhere, baby, I can't wait to see you soon. I must leave you now. I love you, babe.'

'Love you too, treasure. Kiss you, my love.'

She didn't doubt that he will be the better father in the world. She smiled, she was proud he chose her to be at his side. She loved him deeply, sincerely, unconditionally, she would die for him. Sometimes she wondered how an exceptional being like him could have chosen her at first sight. They were really connected deep in their souls, each one guessed the thoughts of the each other. She will give him a family, a life without violence, without danger, a life just with love, softness, and happiness. She was dreaming on the couch when her phone rang. She took the call.

"Hi, Ms. Adrian, how are you?" Mr. Miller said with a worried voice.

"Hello, Mr. Miller. I'm fine, and you? What's going on?" Lisa replied, looking at her watch. She bit her lower lip, she was late, very late.

"May I remember you that we have a meeting at 10:00 am, I count on you, Ms. Adrian, you hold all the cards to realize the ambitions for the enterprise's growth.." Mr. Miller recalled her.

"I remember. I'm sorry. I have had some... important personal things to manage this morning. I'm on my way." She quickly answered as John said to Harold.

"I'm waiting for you." Mr. Miller said, relieved that Lisa would arrive soon.

Lisa closed the call, sighing. She strode to the bathroom to check her makeup. Then she took her handbag and came out her home, locking the door. On the sidewalk, she hailed a cab and climbed into it. When the cab left her at the destination, time was 09:45 am. She came in the large hall with a decided pace and she smiled at the receptionist with a friendly 'Good morning'. She entered the elevator that lifted her up to her office's floor. She went in her office, she took off her light summer coat and hanged it in the closet. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and adjusted her outfit. She was dressed in a sleeveless marine blue pleated dress that emphasized her waist and breasts and hemlines that hovered at her knee, with a boat neckline that gave her a classic elegant figure. She had chosen blue medium-heeled shoes of matching color. Mr. Miller knocked at her door and entered her office with a file in a hand and a cup of coffee in the other.

"Finally, you are there. I was stressed that you had a problem. The photographer and the publicist are a few late to the rendezvous, you can take your time to appreciate your coffee, Ms. Adrian. You are really pretty with this summer dress." He said with an appreciative look.

"Cool, Mr. Miller. The world goes on spinning without us, right? How is Ilsa, I miss her." She took a sip of the coffee.

"Ilsa missed you too, she always talks about you."

"You changed the coffee brand, this one is really delicious." She smiled, sipping her coffee.

"Colombia coffee from Aguadas. A customer ordered packs when he traveled to Colombia and gave me the shop address. I thought of you that tasted good coffee in France." Mr. Miller said, joining his hands and smiling.

"Oh, you are a precious co-worker, Mr. Miller. I would say you made a good choice. It's really good and perfumed. Keep on ordering it, please." She replied with a wide smile and a grateful look.

Mr. Miller was on cloud nine that she was pleased with his initiative. After a while, his phone rang and he took the call.

"Yes, how are you? Come and lift up to the fifth floor. We are waiting for you." He closed the call.

"They arrived, Ms. Adrian. Where do we receive them?"

"In the meeting room where the technologic material is in service. You know, the network, the screen, the computer, the projector, the micro. Is the material up to work, Mr. Miller?" She enumerated.

"I hope." He replied.

Mr. Miller received their visitors and shook their hands, then he led them to the meeting room. Lisa entered the meeting room one minute later and introduced herself and Mr. Miller to the visitors. The photographer, Julian Kerr, and Lisa had worked together on the image of the Riviere enterprise and they maintained good connections for the contract they concluded. Michael Jacob was a publicity and marketing manager. Contacted by Julian he immediately agreed to take the challenge in Lisa's project. This meeting was the purpose to show his skills and objectives, to present his collaborative part to the Riviere enterprise. When he shook Lisa's hand, electricity jolted in their arms. This startled them and they laughed uncomfortably. Tall and athletic, he had an elegant poise in his dark suit, his short brown hair, his tanned skin, and his green eyes inspired awe. His look was sincere and his general appearance aroused trust.

Lisa invited them to sit around the table and to expose their ideas about the image spreading of her enterprise.  
Michael was the first to talk. He was used to working with individuals and companies in an attempt to help them earn favorable press in the media. He had great people skills; his job required to have an abundance of contacts at newspapers, magazines, television stations and other outlets. He asked to project his computer screen on the wall to make his show. The network didn't work. Lisa stood up and began to look on his computer to catch the error and diagnose the problem. She understood that the wifi antenna of the room was off. She looked around and found that antenna was switched off; she removed her shoes and climbed on a chair to switch it on and all worked fine. The three men were stunned by her reactivity and how she solved the problem. She shrugged and smiled at them, she put on her shoes and sat again on her chair. She wrote a short note on her computer that she mailed to Mr. Miller: 'To check that all meeting rooms must be operational 24/7!'

Michael smirked and continued his show. He demonstrated how he was able to propel an enterprise toward a local and an international fame using his contacts and he explained how his contacts will spread it worldwide. Lisa and Mr. Miller hung onto his every word. Finally, he showed his history customers list who used his services, then he talked about the pricing of the service. Lisa thanked him and requested for an estimate in a prompt delay. She asked then to Julian to vision his job, 'their job'.  
Julian connected his computer so his screen would show on the wall plan and he run and commented a slideshow with the shooting Lisa and him executed. Lisa, Mr. Miller and Michael were attentive to the photos and the different outfits that wore the 'top model'. Lisa was relieved that her shaded face was unrecognizable, only her tattoo was visible, but only John knew she had a tattoo. The photos were a success, clear, elegant, glamorous, and the anonymous face triggered a strong reaction to replace the woman. Julian had required that Lisa dressed in different clothes with various colors and he taught her how to adopt beautiful and powerful poses. He even asked her to smile wide masking the top of her face with a hat or just to show one of her eyes through her hands.

The slideshow finished on the last picture showing Lisa's back and her proud semi-profile. Clapping thanked Julian for his excellent work. Michael turned to him and said with a blissful smile:

"I don't know where you found this pretty woman, but if I meet her I ask her to marry me right there."

Julian laughed and patted him on his back, shaking his head. Lisa felt a hot wave on her face that she hid in bending toward the floor to gather an invisible pen fallen on the floor.

"The figure is highly feminine, perfect and suggestive, the mystery of the beautiful stranger even carries in all its cells the main thing, the essence of our enterprise. She seduced me." Mr. Miller announced with awe.

Lisa turned her look on him and smiled, giving him a bump with her shoulder.

"What is your feeling, Ms. Adrian?" Julian demanded with an interrogative look.

"My feeling is that you did an excellent work using all your skills. You blow me away. Modeling is a lot more than looking pretty, it is telling a story through the body language. And the story you are trying to tell is clear to me. I see the Riviere enterprise in your creativity. This body with a shaded face creates the desire to know what the owner feels in these outfits. I'm really impressed. There is nothing to throw. I suggest you strike with all the pictures you shot."

Julian smiled at how she tried to cloud the issue, scared she was to be discovered. He nodded and turned to Michael.

"I'm under the spell of this unknown creature. I'm sure the world is going to fall at her feet as I certainly do right now. You provided an impressive demonstration of your skills and this girl helped a great part." He wasn't ashamed to let see his feelings in front of people he didn't know.

"How long until magazines, TV spot our pictures? What about billboards bus and buildings?" Lisa demanded.

"Billboards can stand in a few days. Media depends on the window size of publishing. This can be fixed with a good communication." Michael answered.

"Mr. Jacob, you take in charge all the communication with media, all billboards. You have my full permission. All the pictures must be published." Lisa announced.

Lisa looked at her watch. It was noon. She thought of John and said to herself that her job was terrifically superficial in comparison to John's. She was safe in her building while he was doing whatever task to save people. She missed him and needed to text him but she was scared to disturb him in his work.

"What about having lunch at 'Del Posto' restaurant?" Mr. Miller asked.

"Oh, it's a good idea. you are our guests." Lisa replied joyfully.

"Michael, are you up for it?" Julian asked Michael.

"Of course." Michael answered.

"Mr. Miller, you drive us." Lisa commanded.

They all went out the meeting room to have lunch in one of the best Italian restaurants in Manhattan. At the restaurant Mr. Miller sat beside Lisa, Julian sat in front of Mr. Miller and Michael sat on the free seat in front of Lisa. He smiled at her almost shyly as to excuse himself. Her phone flashed and she took it hoping to have a text message, but nothing. All the men ordered meat and pasta with red wine of Sicilia, she ordered fettuccini with tomatoes and creamed mushrooms, they all ordered varied cheeses and chocolate desserts. They were savoring their meals when her phone beeped. It was a text message from John.

'Sweetheart, you are savoring my preferred meal, it's unfair.'

'Where are you? How do you know? Do you listen to all of my conversations on my phone?' She frowned.

'More or less. Lisa, I just want to say you that I miss you. Please, call me when you are going to work again.'

'Yes, I miss you too.' Their conversation ended.

She put her phone on the table and she continued to eat her fettucini. Julian and Mr. Miller were talking while Michael was looking at her with curiosity. She blushed and felt uneasy to be scrutinized. But she boldly held his gaze, trying to keep her cold blood.

"You like pasta." Michael asked her with interest.

"Yes, especially Italian recipes in restaurants. It's so tasting. I never succeeded to cook pasta as good as these ones." She replied, relieved to evacuate her stress through a conversation.

"I like cooking Italian pasta recipes. I manage rather well in the kitchen. If you are interested I invite you to taste my pasta whenever you want." He suggested her with a soft smile.

Lisa was extremely disconcerting by the genuine boldness of Michael. They were introduced three hours earlier and he was asking her for a date. She blushed and coughed, very uneasy. Her phone beeped one more time.

'Why are you so long to tell him 'NO'? Do I need to come and resolve the problem?' John texted her.

'NO.' She texted John, enerved, he was listening on her phone.

"It's not a good idea. I'm sorry." She answered dryly.

The waiter cleared the plates and served them the varied cheeses and chocolate desserts. Michael was disappointed but he decided that he wouldn't give up; he would ask her again later. She attracted him, at the first sight he has been enthralled by her. Her simplicity and her genuine spontaneity contrasted with her fortune and the luxurious standing she lived in. He wanted to know more about her and perhaps she would like him first as a friend then he hoped perhaps more than a friend.

They were about leaving the restaurant, Mr. Miller paid the bill with the credit card of the enterprise Lisa handed him. On the sidewalk, they split shaking their hands. Michael kept Lisa's hand in his longer than usual, talking about the estimate she requested. She freed her hand and stayed next Mr. Miller, eyeing Julian and Michael hailing a cab.

"Excuse me, Mr. Miller, I need to walk, I will return with a cab. You can go." Lisa said to his co-worker. She waited for him to enter his car and pull away. She dialed John.

"John, where are you?" She demanded one more time.

"Walk on the sidewalk on the left. Now, turn left, baby."

She walked as he said, roaming her eyes everywhere to keep him in sight. After two minutes of walk, a hand seized hers and she stopped. He was there beside her, he led her in a desert alleyway. On the way, he dialed Shaw.

"Shaw, what are you doing?" He asked. Shaw was stalking Alice in a near sports shop and might report to him every ten minutes.

"Alice is buying the store. She chose sportswear to clothe a soccer team. And she hasn't yet finished." She replied.

"Call me when she goes out the store, okay?" He warned her and closed the call.

John invited Lisa to climb into his SUV. She sat on the passenger seat while he entered and sat on the driver seat. She was going to talk about why he was listening on her phone when he pulled her body against him and kissed her as his life depended on it. She kissed him back passionately, moaning softly.

"I wanted to hold you. I missed you, baby, I need you as I never had. I'm scared to lose you." John confessed kissing her with passion.

"Oh, my angel, I will never leave you, you are so precious to me." She murmured in a breath.

"Make love to me, baby, I need you." He begged.

"Here? Don't you dare do this! It's an infraction. You know what we risk if we are caught. We can be jailed, John." She shouted with surprise.

John lowered his windows and plugged a police light on the roof of his car. He lifted up his window and said:

"Now we are in a police car, with tinted windows protecting us from indiscreet curious and my fellow cops won't disturb us, honey. "

"You break the rules whatever suits you."

"I love breaking the rules."

"You are an enfant terrible." She laughed.

"Oh, now it's me the child. Come on here, I will show you what is more than erotic, my love." He whispered with his trademark smirk.

John lowered the backrest of his seat to let her room to sit on his lap. She straddled him, she opened his pants and helped him to ease his hard virile member from his clothes. He roamed his hands under her dress, he caressed her thighs up to her hips and he ripped her lace thong with a skilled movement.

"John, what.." She revolted.

"I will offer you tons of panties, baby." He breathed in her neck, he guided his penis at her entrance, rubbing it against her folds and her clitoris. Grabbing her hips with both hands he impaled her on his hard erected cock.

"Oh, my God, John." She cried out, making him stop.

"Did I hurt you?" He demanded in a worried tone.

"No, no, that is you are so ardent and surprising, you..you.."

John snaked one arm on the back of her neck and lowered her head toward his. He took her mouth into his and his tongue played a lascivious dance with hers while he thrust hard into her as he hadn't hurt her. She moved with him, upward and downward, meeting each thrust of him. He locked his eyes with hers and they said to her all his love. She leaned on him, she cupped his cheeks in her hands and kissed him tenderly holding his look. His hands on her hips pulled her up and back toward him with every thrust plunging deeper each time. The hot, clenching body around his most sensitive organ was pure heaven. His strokes were long, deep and powerful; they hit her G spot repeatedly and initiated the birth of a heat in her belly. With one hand, he caressed her back and her thighs restlessly, murmuring that he loved her more than his life. He kissed her passionately while he pushed his virile member deep into her inside. She moaned loudly and called his name.

"John, John, I love you."

"Yes, baby, come with me, please, come.." When she climaxed, she took him with her.

Her walls tightened his cock and swallowed it. When she screamed out his name, he plugged his mouth on hers to silence her. He plunged deeper into her center to give her his precious semen with a groan of pleasure and a sigh of her name. They stayed enlaced and sex connected until they landed on Earth. There were panting and breathing heavily. They hugged each other in a tender embrace that seemed to last forever.

"Oh, my sweetheart, my lady, you give me light and happiness, I love you so much." He said with a gentle touch of caress over her face and her shoulders.

"I love you too, my treasure." She whispered, very moved.

Then he sighed, he tapped his earpiece as Finch dialed him.

"Mr. Reese, is everything all right? If I were to speculate from your labored breathing, I'll take that as a 'No'." Finch asked in a tense voice.

"I'm a little busy, Finch. What's up?" John replied smirking. He wondered if Finch heard the loving episode as he hasn't disconnected his earpiece.

They kissed softly and she laid on him, caressing his skin under his undershirt, her head in the hollow of his neck.

"Finally, I got some background information on Ms. Robinson's father with the help of Detective Carter. He was a former CIA president. As part of America's intelligence community, the CIA collects information about foreign governments, organized crime and terrorist groups. He was the center of the spying system. He quit and worked as a strategic counselor of the president."

Lisa was gathering her pieces on his lap and she sat on the passenger seat, arranging her hair, her dress, and taking off her ruined thong. John adjusted his clothes and lifted up the back seat."

"He certainly knows secrets and strategic plans and information that can be used by foreign countries. His daughter may be a leverage against him."

"This can be an option. Don't let her out of sight. I will try to investigate deeper, entering the databases of the Pentagon without arousing Big Brother's curiosity."

"Finch, this is dangerous for the Machine, the team and our business, isn't it? If the CIA goes back to us, no one will know we have existed. And what about the irrelevant numbers? Who will save them?" Anger rose in John, his voice became rough.

"Mr. Reese, we are already dead. Don't worry, I will take all the measures to stay outside of their radar."

"Finch, I don't agree you investigate in the Pentagon databases if it endangers innocent people. I don't agree Lisa can be hurt because of this stuff. You understand? They will go after all people we know. This is too risky. The evil CIA and the NSA have the capability to spy and analyze for days, weeks, months, years and when they find you, they catch you before you even have the time to type a return on your keyboard." John spoke gritting his teeth.

"John, I understand your concern. What can I do to know more?" Finch was stunned by the rebellion of John.

"Nothing. We protect our number. No need to sniff around the CIA." John hammered strongly.

"I come around to your opinion. I won't try anything. Stay in touch with me. Mr. Reese." Finch said with a quaking voice and he closed the call.

John sensed that he deeply upset Finch when he let out his anger, but he couldn't help himself, he flipped his lid. Finch thought of sneaking in the Pentagon databases would be harmless; he was not aware of the CIA methods and with vehemence, John told him he was wrong.

Lisa was transfixed by the restrained anger of John. She bowed her head and kept back tears that blurred her vision. John thought of her safety and he was fighting against Finch about their line of work.

"Come here, baby, don't be afraid, I'm here for you always." John hold her tightly against his chest, she rolled her arms around his neck and they kissed with passion.

"John, be careful, I'm scared it happens..."

"Sshh, nothing, it happens nothing, my baby." He cupped her face in his hands and locked his blue-grey eyes with hers, he gave her the softest kiss in her life.

"John, when.." She couldn't end her words, he cut her off.

"Baby, don't wait for me tonight, I don't know when I will come back to you. Soon, I hope. I will call you every day."

"I have to go, John." She said reluctantly, opening the passenger door.

John grabbed her in his arms and held her tightly; he kissed her with intensity and passion. She kissed him back desperately. He broke the kiss with concern; he had to let her go. She came out the car and slammed the door shut. She walked a few steps and turned to blow him a kiss on her hand. John felt his heart ached for her and he promised himself to stay longer with her the next time. He dialed Shaw.

"Shaw, What's up with Alice?" John demanded

"That is it. She is paying her purchases." She replied with a sigh of relief.

"Good, I lead the car toward the store. Feel free to join me." John commanded.

"She placed her purchases in the trunk of her car. Reese, come on, she is about to go."

John drove in the main street just when Alice started her car and pulled out gently on the lane. Shaw climbed into the SUV with agility and they pulled away in the traffic, tailing Alice. They pursued her till her home.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Don't' forget to comment. The case of Alice is running and will be the catalyst for the situation. Things will start to be unstable between John and Harold. Anger, angst, and uncertainty will scramble their mutual trust. Finch always thought that being involved emotionally with a number could be dangerous for John, for the team and the Machine. And that it is. John is tied to Lisa like the ivy on the wall. He will take decisions thinking first about her safety because she is his top priority. Harold will understand but he would never have imagined that this could happen.


	22. Chapter 22 The Yoga Teacher's Case

The yoga teacher's case is running. John and Shaw work on it restlessly. John spends a lovely moment with Lisa in his car to soothe his angst to lose her; then he expresses some disagreements about the methods of Harold that upsets his boss. Now the central target Alice is going to have a hard time with her keepers and her potential assassin.

* * *

Chapter 22

When Alice arrived at her home, she parked her car in the inside parking lot. John drove into the inside parking just behind her and parked his car. They looked at her that was emptying her trunk and then closing securely her car. She walked toward the entrance of the building while John and Shaw sidled up to her using the pillars to hide them. Alice typed a code at the entrance door and entered the hall; John and Shaw hurried to keep going on in the hall too. The elevator lifted Alice up to the tenth floor while they followed the same way in the second elevator. When they joined at the tenth floor, they exited the elevator and stayed in hiding behind a wall, wearing their ski mask; they saw Alice sliding her key in the lock to enter. But her door was unlocked. She moved backward and put her bunch of purchases on the floor. She searched in her purse and got out a gun that she held with her two hands, her arms out straight in front of her. Without a hesitation, John slid behind her and silenced her with his large hand on her mouth and disarmed her. He put her gun in his pocket and immobilized her against his large chest with his arm. She writhed to withdraw of his firm hold, banging her feet on his legs.

"Sshh, stay quiet and all is all right. Don't be afraid, I'm here to help you." John murmured in her ear.

She turned and bent back her head as she could and her gaze met his blue-grey eyes. She stopped to fight, she would have recognized these eyes among a thousand. John made a sign for Shaw to come. Shaw walked like a thief toward them, gun in hand.

"Promise me, you stay here with my co-worker and you don't move an eye." John asked gently but firmly.

Alice nodded. John carefully removed his hand from her mouth, she was panicked but she said nothing. Then, he loosened his arm from her waist, she stayed quiet. Tears silently dropped from her eyes and rolled on her cheeks. John wiped them with his thumbs and put his index finger on his mouth. He took his gun from the back of his waistband and he silently entered the hallway of the apartment while Shaw used her body as a shield to protect Alice.

John explored silently inch by inch the flat till he saw a frame that was kneeling on the floor and taking the wooden lathes apart. The man was scratching the floor with a crowbar. John stayed motionless and silent, holding his breath. The man was busy on his task when he lifted up his head and roamed his gaze over the room. He stood up an quietly forwarded to the balcony. He looked down in the street and swiftly he stepped over the guardrail and jumped into the void. John hurried to the balcony to see the guy sliding down a rope on a dizzyingly fast speed. He didn't want to shoot him so he took his binoculars in his pocket and followed him till he touched the ground. He memorized as he could the plates of the car he climbed into. Then he dialed Finch.

"Finch, there was a guy in the apartment of Alice. He was searching for something under the wooden floor. He escaped in the void with a rope like a circus artist. I just noticed his face, the car and the plates of his car." He described the face of the man, the car and gave the plates number to Finch.

"Mr. Reese, that is a cat burglar. I didn't know that existed yet. I search for the car and the plates. What are you doing with Ms. Robinson? She can't stay alone." Finch grumbled.

"We will see. I wonder what he was searching under the floor so I will continue the investigation after him." He closed the call.

He put his gun in the back of his waistband and strode to the door. He asked Shaw and Alice to enter.

"What is going on, John?" Alice demanded, fixing John's eyes.

John and Shaw looked at each other in surprise; John took off his ski mask and sighed, smirking. Shaw did the same with a grimace.

"You are sharp-sighted" John uttered.

"You have beautiful blue-grey eyes that can't be missed..." She retorted with a soft smile.

Shaw looked at John who blushed hard and she rolled her eyes in disbelief. John hawked before saying:

"A man was demolishing your floor, seeking something. We must know what he was searching. Do you know who was the previous tenant?"

"No, I don't. But I suppose that the building keeper knows. We can call him. But why are you stalking me?" She asked looking at John then at Shaw.

"We know that you are in danger and we are here to help you." John answered.

"You are stuck with us, now, night and day." Shaw hammered arching her brows.

"I'm sorry, we have to continue the devastating work this guy initiated on your floor."

John and Shaw kneeled and started to scratch the wooden floor. Alice sat on the couch, her chin in her hands and looked at them ripping her flat. Soon they found a sort of rectangular box wrapped in a plastic film. John wore his gloves and took the box; then he unwrapped carefully the box and opened it. It contained a sealed brown paper envelop. John unsealed the envelope and looked at the few documents in it. He took them out and started to read them. Soon he became deathly pale. He dialed Finch. He stood up and went on the balcony for a discreet talk with his boss.

"Finch, we have a problem. We found documents under the wooden floor. It's.. it's serious. I return to the library to talk to you. Shaw will stay with Alice during my absence."

"You seems upside down, Mr. Reese! I'm waiting for you. Oh, the car has been rented in cash with an unknown name two days ago. I rewound the camera's history around the garage and I caught a man face driving the car." Finch replied with his noble voice. They disconnected the call.

"Shaw, you take care of Alice till I come back, okay? I take the car. Alice, what is the entry code of the entrance?"

"0911." She replied, looking at him with appreciation and emotion.

Her admirative look didn't escape to John who kept an emotionless face; Shaw deep sighed and nodded, she was going to babysitting her pretty yoga teacher, this was her consolation prize. Shaw didn't doubt that Alice had a thing for John, the way she gazed at him moving in the room spoke a lot.

"I have to go. Close and lock the door. Don't open the door except to me." He told to the women seated on the couch. They nodded.

"Be careful, partner." Shaw said in a tensed tone.

John came out of the apartment and lifted down to the floor 0. He strode to the building keeper's lodge. Showing the badge of Detective James Stills, he asked him for the previous tenants' names of Ms. Robinson flat.

"Yes, this flat was undergoing changes in a few months before Ms. Robinson arrived. Three tenants in six months. Do you want all the names?"

"Please, give me the names with the arrival and departure dates on a year."

"Okay, Detective." He printed the requested report and handed it to John.

"Thank you." John said with a closed face.

"You're welcome, Detective."

John hurried toward the inside parking. Entering the car, he thought of Lisa. He didn't know when he will see her again. He missed her. He took a few seconds to text her.

'Baby, I miss you, I love you so much, my love.'

'Hi, my treasure, I miss you and love you more too. I thought of you all the day, I feel your body yet into me.'

'I.. I hope to see you soon and hold you tightly in my arms, loving you all night long like crazy.'

'John, come back to me, be careful for us, for our future, you understand what I mean.'

'Baby, we will make it together for our entire life. I have so much to say to you, so much to give you, and I wish to say and give my eternal love. Wait for me, baby.'

'All you want, I will give you, treasure, all.'

'I have to go, see you soon, babe.'

John ended the message with a heavy heart. He sighed, he started his car and came out of the parking. He melted into the traffic and drove toward the library. The documents found at Alice's home were intensely sensitive for the national security. John climbed upstairs by two. Finch was waiting for him with impatience. Just arrived, John handed the letter with the documents. Finch took them and began to read. He felt his hair bristled.

These documents were speaking about the secret jails of the CIA. There wasn't about a small operation but a true alternative prison system, the famous "black sites" allowing the American government to jail almost who they wanted, in the conditions they wanted, anywhere in the world. Denied for a long time, accusations of Amnesty International had been partly recognized by the American government, especially the existence of the "bases" in foreign countries, mainly in the East of Europa, in Marocco or in Afghanistan, granting to the United States to not apply to the prisoners the American Law.  
These document revealed and detailed the practices used in the secret prisons of the agency: simulacra drowning or execution, imprisonment in the cold without being able to move ... The agents who practiced these tortures were mentioned. Countries no longer. But Poland, Romania or Thailand are suspected of having housed these very special detention centers. The report detailed 19 specific cases, including that of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, suspected of belonging to the al-Qaeda hierarchy, who, according to a former FBI agent, was subjected 183 times to simulated drowning.  
Then were documents and proofs of the implication of the CIA agents, chiefs, and president in the "black sites". Mr. Robinson was mentioned as responsible giving orders, notes and records in attached pieces.

"Mr. Reese, we have a bomb in our hands. Unfortunately, Alice is living in a flat where these documents were hidden. She wasn't aware of this, I suppose. What a coincidence! she is the daughter of the accused ex CIA president."

"Finch, the building keeper printed this report on the previous tenants." John handed the sheet to Finch.

"Good, we are going to explore the life of these persons," Finch muttered.

Finch and John worked till the evening on the previous tenants. They asked the Detectives Carter and Fusco to help when they couldn't go further in their investigation. He got no interesting feedback on them. Finch showed to John the image history of the camera around the garage where a man drove the rented car with the identified plates.

"This is him." John said aloud.

Finch ran immediately the facial recognition software that identified the man as a sales marketing employee, Steven Prank.

"It's a covert, he must be part of the agency or something like that. Too alert, too skilled and a sharp intellect. He detected me without seeing me, probably a gentle stream of air over the apartment or the feeling of a new mass near him. I wonder if he possessed a tool that measured the pressure of the flat and the air floating. That could explain why he took his time casually to stand up and walk to the balcony, without haste."

"Steven Prank has a Special Forces background, especially in Irak. He might work for a governmental agency, that's an eventuality, Mr. Reese."

John dialed Shaw to know if she needed him.

"I needed to take a nap, you awoke me, Reese." Shaw said yawning.

"Alice, how is she?" John asked.

"She asked when you come back, fear she has a crush on you." She murmured with a giggle.

"Shaw, it's not the time to joke. Is she awaken? Give her your phone, Shaw." Shaw gave her phone to Alice.

"John, I'm scared, I don't understand what is going on." Alice panicked.

"Relax, Alice, listen to me. Don't be afraid, Shaw is as skilled as me to protect you. Tell me, we found documents under your wooden floor, have you ever been contacted or have you ever met people interested to visit your apartment or have you ever noticed changes in your home?" John demanded.

"Never, why these questions? She asked with a worried voice.

"Just to know if you were aware of these documents. It's crucial for us and for you that you say the truth, Alice, do you understand?" John insisted.

"I swear I didn't know that there was something hidden under my floor. I rent this flat three months ago. I received friends to hold a house-warming party, that's all. I never noticed any changes in my home." She enumerated on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

"Okay, I believe you, stay calm."

"John, when do you come back?" She begged him.

"Shaw is able to keep watch over you. Try to rest, hmm. Tomorrow. Good night." He closed the call.

"Something wrong, Mr. Reese?" Finch listened to the conversation and understood the concern of John.

"Nothing, Finch. Just Alice doesn't feel confident with Shaw." John retorted with a smirk.

"Sure, Ms. Shaw isn't beefy like you and she is a woman." Finch joked.

John shrugged and run his hands through his hair. He was tired and longed for a warm shower and his bed, and Lisa. But he had no time for all that tonight.

"I think I'm going to keep Shaw company. Finch, the CIA used to go after witnesses of their crimes and to erase them. Alice is always in danger."

"I know, it's preferable to house her in a safe place." Finch argued.

"If she leaves her home, she will be wanted for a long time. Keeping her in her home will attract the predator to act. Shaw and I will alternate with each other to watch on her. Sooner or later someone will come for her."

"It's a dangerous option, Mr. Reese. But I can help watching images of the cameras around her building.

John came out of the library and drove to his home to shower and change of clothes. By the way, he gathered some more guns and ammunition and a backpack of changes and toilets. Then he drove in the traffic of the night toward the home of Alice. He parked the car in the street in front of her building. He entered the hall typing the code Alice gave him. Walking in front of the lodge, the keeper saluted him with a smile. John was about to take the elevator when he heard footsteps in the stairs. He tapped his earpiece and dialed Shaw.

"Shaw, people go up the stairs. I'm behind. Be careful not to expose you. Stay far from the door."

"Oh Reese, you like me? Try not to die too. I'm going to make instant mashed potato with them." She murmured holding one gun in each hand and pushing Alice in hiding in her bedroom.

John tapped his earpiece as Finch called him.

"Mr. Reese. There are three men in the building, sorry to be late on this."

"I'm a little busy, Finch. Thanks." John whispered.

At the tenth floor, the three men played their role. One spied on the stairs and the elevators, the two others searched and headed for Alice's door. Taking advantage of the fact that the stairs guardian turned his head to look at his accomplices, John jumped five stairs up like a big cat and he snatched the head of the man. He suffocated him with his large and powerful hand and disarmed him at the same time. But the man was strong and recoiled at the grasp of John. They battled with fists and elbows until John got the upper hand. Alerted by the noise, one other man showed up in the hallway. john fired him in the kneecap, living him screaming in pain and holding his bleeding leg. He heard shots and screams in the corner of the hallway. He ran toward Alice's flat and he saw Shaw blowing on the barrel of her gun. He smirked and shook his head.

"Let tie them, Shaw." They tied the three perpetrators and let them in the hallway. Then John dialed the detective Fusco.

"Mr. Sunshine, need my help? You have a temperature or something?" Fusco grumbled loudly.

"Lionel, I'm fine. I just want to gift you a package of bad guys." John muttered.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Fusco shouted, standing off his chair.

"Highly trained government assassins with orders to kill. And call the emergency support." John chuckled and he gave to Fusco the address of Alice and disconnected.

"Shaw, you did a good job. These bastards came three for her. I think this is only the first wave."

Twenty minutes later, Fusco walked in the hallway with three cops and the emergency personnel. They took in charge the wounded men and led them in the ambulance. John dialed Fusco again.

"Thanks, Lionel, to keep the inquiry silent. I would thank you later for that. Oh, Carter is not with you?"

"Nope, she wanna not fill paperwork cause of you." Fusco sighed noisily with anger. Paperwork was for him.

John smirked and disconnected. Hopefully, he had no paperwork with Finch. John knocked many times at the bedroom door of Alice. As she didn't answer, he softly opened the door and he looked into the darkness. She was sitting on the bed, her cheeks were soaked with her tears, she was silently sobbing. When she saw John, she stood up and threw herself into his arms. She gripped his jacket and she held him tightly against her, searching the protection of his tall and large body. He rolled his arms around her shoulders.

"What is going on? Who are these men? Why are they after me?" She whined between two sobs.

"SShh. We are here to protect you but you know, this isn't transparent. It's going to continue."

"I must to go to work tomorrow. Otherwise, I will lose all my students."

"No way. You stay here with us." He replied dryly.

"No, I have to work, you understand. You can't jail me in my home." She moved back from him and forwarded to the living room.

"Better to be jailed than to be dead." John murmured, following her and tempting to convince her.

Shaw glanced at them and thought that Alice was arguing to interest Reese. She was enerved by her lack of consideration toward them and the fact that she ignored that they risked their life for her.

"Reese, I go home to shower, change and rest. I sweated a little just now. Come back in a few hours." She said angrily, rolling black eyes to Alice. She stood up, she came out and slammed the door.

Alice gazed at Shaw with astonishment then at John.

"John, your eyebrow is cut, let me see." She went to her bathroom and came back with the First Aid Kit.

"Don't worry, it's nothing. I will survive." He bantered.

"Sit down here." She commanded. He sat down and she positioned herself between his spread legs.

She disinfected the cut with a compress of Biseptine, she creamed it with a healing onguent then she put a little band-aid. She was satisfied of her nurse work on him and she caressed his forehead. John had closed his eyes and he was lost in the memories of Lisa when she took care of his severe injuries in his loft. He remembered the softness and the precision of her fingers on his skin. He missed her, right now, he missed her a lot.

"John? Are you okay?" Alice questioned.

"Yes, thank you." He stood up in one leap, towering her with his height, that she appreciated and let him show.

"I am going to cook something for us. Usually, I ordered a take out but I have always frozen meals." She said friendly.

She prepared a little meal with lasagna, Italian salad with tomatoes, raw ham and Parmesan cheese, and yogurts in dessert. They ate silently. John was uneasy as she stared at him with an unhidden admiration. He looked at his watch, it was 11:30 pm.

"I need to rest a few hours on your couch. Can I?" He demanded.

"Of course." She searched in a closet and returned to him with a pillow and a comforter.

"Thank you, Alice. Good night." She understood that she had to go to her bedroom, that was what she did.

John took off his jacket and his shoes and he unbuckled his belt. He checked that the door was locked. He put his gun under the pillow and laid on the couch under the comforter. He drifted quickly in a semi-sleep, in a semi-alert mode. He dreamt of Lisa, he dreamt that he made love to her, he sighed her name and shifted on the couch. A hardness in his boxer woke him up. He felt bad, he needed a cold shower and decided to have one in the bathroom of Alice. He got off the couch and strode to the bathroom. He undressed and folded his clothes on the counter. Then he turned the water on cold with a light spray to be as silent as possible and he let the water rain on his muscles. His erection softened and stopped. He turned off the water and dried himself with a large towel that he wrapped around his waist. He returned to the couch and laid on his back, covering himself with the comforter. At this very moment, for the first time, he thought of a normal life with Lisa and their children, a life of happiness and eternal love.

When Alice entered the living room, very earlier in the morning, she gazed at John, sprawled on his back on the couch, his large chest covered with scars and his powerful long legs uncovered. He took her breath away so he was a handsome man. Her breath and her heart raced, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. She never imagined that a suit could hide such a beauty. John slowly opened his eyes and covered his body with the comforter. She blushed to be caught looking at him in his half nudity. He blushed too to be exposed to her looks.

"I'm sorry. I showered this night and kept the towel as a pajama." He smiled.

"I'm not sorry." She said with a light laughter.

"What do you like for breakfast, coffee, tea, chocolate, milk, eggs, bacon, tell me?" She demanded, searching in the closet and in the fridge the ingredients to do it.

"Black coffee, eggs and bacon, thanks." He replied getting off the couch and striding to the bathroom.

He took a quick shower and dressed in his clothes in one minute. His phone rang, he took the call.

"Reese, I slept like a log. What's up? Have hot, crazy sex behind my back?" Shaw giggled.

"Shaw, stop your stupid remarks and take yourself back here, now." He said in a dull voice.

He cut the call and soon he heard a knock at the door. He took his gun in his hand and he looked in the peephole. He unlocked and opened the door to let Shaw come on in. She roamed her gaze around and sniffed the air like a hound dog. John closed and locked the door. He put his gun in the back of his waistband and intended to fold the comforter and put it away with the pillow. Alice greeted Shaw with a wide smile. She invited John and Shaw to sit at the dinner table and she brought a tray with three bowls, plates of eggs and bacon, and a pot of coffee. They sit down at the table and ate in silence. When they finished their breakfast, Alice unset the table and John helped her to do the dishes. Then Alice went to the bathroom to shower and do a little makeup. With a towel around her, she forwarded to her bedroom and came out ten minutes later, dressed and ready to go.

"Where you go?" John asked, annoyed that she behaved as a stubborn person.

"I go to work." She replied dryly.

"What I said to you yesterday. It's not safe to quit your apartment. Better you stay here, understand."

"Strangers came twice to my apartment, I think it's better to go to work." She replied sharply.

John tapped his earpiece.

"What's Alice doing?" Finch demanded.

"She is ready to go to work."

"Do you plan to intervene?"

"I'm here to protect, not discipline."

Alice forwarded to the door when John blocked her. She tried to force him to let her come out. He lifted her up in his arms and he walked in the middle of the living room and sat her on the couch rudely. Shaw was looking at the scene with a devilish little smile, admiring John and his manly ability to convince her yoga teacher. She bet that Alice was going to battle with him.

"Finch, if this keeps up, the biggest threat to Alice is gonna be me." John cut the call.

"Don't insist, I could not be nice. I could tie you up on a chair or lock you in a closet." He said to Alice with a menacing voice.

"Try it. Don't you dare, I am not going to obey you. You don't scare me." Alice shouted.

Alice stood up and ran towards the door, weaving in and out, doing dummy moves to fool John. She reached the door but before she opened it he was behind her in a swift movement, grasping her body and holding her tightly against him.

"I believed you were an intelligent person. You are fighting people who care for you, who protect your life to walk into the lion's den." John said in her ear, softening his voice.

She quivered at the feeling of his body against hers, her mouth was dry and she closed her eyes to hide her confusion. John led her on the couch and she sat down, bowing her head. Shaw sat beside her and consoled her.

"You are in danger everywhere you go. Better to stay here with us till we find the threat." Shaw explained against all odds.

She surprised John by the way she spoke, softly and clearly, without anger or innuendos. Alice nodded. John sighed and nodded to Shaw to approve what she had just said. He thought of Shaw was sometimes like she had no disorder like she was normal. He trusted her even if she annoyed him with her silly and sex-oriented remarks about him. Sometimes he really wanted to get angry but he had learned to master his emotions and he knew that it was a game for her to try to destabilize him. Alice was silent and she was trying to make a point because she was going to lose her clientele. Her life was in danger, of course, but her job too. She had only to hope that it will finish as soon as possible.

Five days passed without any incident occurring. John and Shaw took turns with Alice. The atmosphere was sometimes heavy, the tension between the three was palpable because of promiscuity. Alice had warned her students that she was sick and that she would come back as soon as she was better. She had also called her father and said nothing to anyone. Except that John had cloned her phone and captured the conversation. She had told her father that a man had entered his house and searched under the floor. She had not spoken of her close protection or the commando of the three men. She feared reprisals against her two bodyguards. Her father had asked her if she knew what the object of the search was, if she had complained, she said no. Then they talked about the family, the work, to see each other again at the holidays. Finally, they finished the call.

John felt that she regretted having called her father. She had not said everything. She had spared the details of her protection and the assault of the three men. She had not said either that she was shut up at her house despite herself. She was obviously afraid that the power her father had could hurt them. All those who worked at the CIA kept their activity secret. Nobody knew that they belonged to the company. Alice did not know anything about her father's past yet she was suspicious of him. John told Finch Alice's phone call to his father.

"God, that was not a good idea, Mr. Reese, I think we need to destroy those documents and send Alice to the other side of the world."

"Finch, she is not responsible for being the daughter of a former CIA president who sponsored horrors. Her father has enemies and they are trying to erase all traces of their passage. She became a person to shoot down as long as she lived in the housing that was hosting sensitive documents implicating the national security." John argued.

"Mr. Reese, more assaults are to be expected, when will we know it will be the last?"

"I do not know, Finch, they do not have the documents but they want to erase Alice, they do not know the connection between her and her father, at the CIA you change your name."

"Mr. Reese, a car just arrived with five men, heading for the entrance to the building."

"Finch, block the doors and lifts."

"Wait, the doors are done. The elevators are longer. Here, I arrived there." Finch stuttered

"They will go through the roof, that's it. We will wait for them on the roof and give them the reception they deserve. Finch, continue to educate us on their progress."

John and Shaw were on maximum alert. They released their AKS-74U assault rifles and ammo and hastily wore their bulletproof jacket.

"Shaw, stay with her, just in case I'm overflowing, put her in a ventilation duct and hide the entrance to the duct, that one there."

"Reese, you can't go alone, it's a suicide." Shaw replied in an atone voice.

"Do what I tell you. They are five, I have to get there." John said.

John left the apartment and climbed to the top of the building four to four. When he arrived on the roof, he found an overhang where he had a 360-degree view of the roof and a place to protect himself from bullets.

"Mr. Reese, they are coming to your right." Finch warned.

John put himself in the shooting position where the men would appear. The first arrived was quickly eliminated. The other four began to sprinkle him with bullets. The four men dispersed to surround him and narrow his range. One of them disappeared from his sight, the other three concentrated on him with heavy fire. Shaw heard the bursts and could not help going up to join John and help him. On arriving on the roof she instantly shot down one of the men who had managed to slip on John's back. He nodded to thank her.

"I told you to stay with Alice." He grumbled.

"Right now, you would be silent if I had listened to you." Shaw snarled.

"Finch would have warned me. Shaw, there are three left."

"One and a half each." She laughed.

A bullet lodged on the cement near the head of John who shot in the direction of fire. Concentrated on where their targets were protecting themselves from their shots, they were strafing as soon as part of a body was visible. They managed to hurt one of the three men. A grinding sound was heard. Shaw glanced quickly behind her to see that the door to the roof squeaked shut.

"Reese, I'm joining Alice, a guy has come inside, cover me up."

John sent a heavy fire, while Shaw recoiled as she lowered herself to cross the roof door. The bullets were hissing over her, but she went through the door without wasting time. She descended the stairs carefully, up to the tenth floor where Alice was staying. In the hallway she walked at a velvet pace, turning to secure her back. Alice's door was open, the man in the corridor scanned every corner before heading straight for the ventilation duct. Shaw had no choice but to shoot him in the head to stop his investigation and prevent him from attacking Alice.

"Alice, it's Shaw, stay hidden, everything is fine." She murmured.

"You are sure?"

"Yep, John is in great shape and is doing great work on the roof."

"Why all this stirs up?" Alice had questions.

"The fault is these damn documents in your home, they do not want a witness, so ... But we're here, let them not do it." Shaw tried to reassure Alice.

"Shaw, how are you?" John demanded.

"Well Reese, are you done with the guys?"

"Yes, three dead, one wounded, we have to call the cops and get out of here quickly, they must be on the road already with all the mayhem. I arrive at the apartment."

Shaw heard hurried footsteps down the hallway. Reese entered the flat and closed the door.

"Help me get this guy out in the hall, quickly. Get Alice out of hiding. The wounded man spoke under threat. Expelled from the CIA they are all part of a militia plotting against the former president of the agency. I sent their pictures to Finch, he will tell us about them and their group. " In doing so they had carried the dead into the hallway and then pulled Alice out of her hiding place, cleaning up the blood stains on the floor.

John called Carter, each in turn for the paperwork, like that no jealousy.

"Detective Carter." Joss announced.

"Hello, Detective. I thought you'd be happy to have a gift package, even more, beautiful than Lionel's. Five militiamen, one wounded, sorry it was them or us. Midtown 72 West 36th Street, 10th Floor and Roof Top."

"John, you're incorrigible, you're still doing justice in the streets, one day I can't cover you, you know, I'm risking my job for you. Okay, at the police station, my score is the highest, but it attracts the jealousy of my colleagues, and I am going to have a ton of papers to fill." Joss complained.

"You're gifted, Detective, that's why I love working with you. Come to join us, with Finch, no papers to fill." John bantered.

"We arrive in half an hour, try to disappear from the landscape." Joss hung up.

John tapped his earpiece.

"Mr. Reese, the MICA militia included eight members. They are all seemingly out of service, including the first who searched under the floor. I identified them all by scanning different databases. I do not think there are relics elsewhere. These types of dissidents are in small groups and have trouble recruiting. Consider that Alice's case is closed."

"Finch, no more threat to her and her father is out of harm too." John concluded.

"Mr. Reese, I listened to all. You did a good job with Ms. Shaw. Take two days off. You need some rest and peace. I will deal with the Detectives for the new numbers." Finch replied, allowing John to take a well-deserved recovery time.

"Thank you, Finch. I admit that I'm in lack of sleep, right now." He chuckled.

"Do your best to recover, Mr. Reese. See you soon." Finch wasn't duped.

John wouldn't rest two days with the love of his life in his bed! He chuckled and thought that John was lucky to be loved by a woman like Lisa.

"Good afternoon, Finch." They disconnected.

* * *

Thanks for reading, please write me a comment on this chapter. Alice's case was stressful for the young woman, but the two guardian angels did well. A little humor with Joss. John and Joss are enjoying themselves. Tensions with Harold are latent but calmed down. It will take a spark to get them back. Stay with me.


	23. Chapter 23 A Romantic Evening

Some peaceful moments for John after a complicated case that scared the team Machine. Despite his tiredness, he wishes to offer Lisa a romantic dinner and some gifts, and more.

Warning: romantic chapter with love scenes, if you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 23

John was relieved that the case of Alice was resolved. A moment, he had been scared for her life but Shaw had been good at reacting in time. After Shaw went out of the flat and left them alone, Alice clearly said to him that she wanted him to stay and spend the night with her. He didn't answer as if he was deaf. He used all his trade secrets to avoid the face to face but she stuck him against the wall gently, pressing her body against his, her hands on his chest and she told him that she was falling in love with him, that she couldn't repress her feelings. Then she rolled her arms around his neck and she kissed him but he didn't kiss her back, he didn't open his mouth to hers. He simply untied her arms from his neck, he pushed her gently and said:

"I'm sorry, Alice, I'm not the right guy for you. There is a lady who has my heart and my love, she is always in my thoughts. What I have with her I don't want with anyone else. Take care of you, Alice." He turned on his heels and came out of her home.

Alice stood dazed, her eyes filled with tears. She might have thought that he was taken, he was so damned handsome outside and inside. She deep sighed and collected herself, she was going to spend months trying to forget him if it was possible to forget a man like John.

John dialed Lisa. Time was 04:00 pm.

"Hi, my baby, how are you?" He murmured while his heart was racing in his chest.

"John, John, I was worried for you, I'm relieved to hear you. What is going on, my treasure?" She asked joyfully.

"Sweetheart, Finch gave me two days off. I invite you to my place for dinner tonight. Do you agree?"

"Of course, my love, I'm so happy to see you. It was so long, almost a week."

"I'm going to make love to you all night long if you will if you still want me." He said with his bedroom voice.

"Cheri, you make me blush." She lightly laughed.

"I love you like crazy, you won't be disappointed. Never in my life, I loved someone as I love you. You make me so happy, baby."

"I.. I want you too, John, your mouth, your hands, your body, your .., all of you.." She succeeded to admit.

"I have to go to the market store and buy food for the dinner. I will cook a calorific meal because we are going to need one, honey." He chuckled.

"You are a naughty boy, John, but I love it." She giggled.

"I kiss you everywhere, take a bag of clothes, baby. Tonight at 08:00 pm."

"I love you, tonight." She replied, her heart pounding in her chest.

John drove to the market store and parked his car in the lot. He took a cart and entered the store. He bought vegetables, strawberries, salmon, sesame, lemons, fruits, cheese, thick beefsteak, olive oil, champagne, white wine, beers... He stopped when his caddie was full. He paid at the cashier and he came out to fill the trunk of his car with his purchases. Then he searched for an undergarments store for women. When he found Victoria Secret's one with luxurious products he entered shyly. Soon a sales assistant walked toward him and offered her help. He asked for coordinate lace and satin panties and bras giving the size of Lisa. She showed him all the lingerie she had. He took each coordinate lingerie and looked at the form and the color. Each one which pleased him he put it in the hands of the sales assistant. After thirty undergarments, bras with or without push up, with or without straps, panties, thongs, tangas, he asked for babydolls and sexy pajamas. He smiled as he recognized one she dressed in one evening. He chose cotton, silk, satin and lace tops and shorts, combi-shorts and bodies. Each time, he imagined Lisa in the clothes and him undressing her. Thirty babydolls and pajamas later, he asked for two-piece swimsuits. He chose a dozen of them very sexy, red, black, white, blue, pastel, then he decided that was enough for today. The sales assistant was mesmerized by John, this tall handsome man who was buying lingerie as others buy candies.

"Please, can you pack all this as one gift?" He demanded.

"Of course, will take a moment, there are so many delicate nice things, all for your woman, I guess."

"Yes, I hope she will like them." He murmured.

"Sure, she will. They are the top of the top. She will like them also because you like what you chose for her." She smiled, showing him that she remarked that he appreciated the sexy lingerie.

John felt a warmth covering his face and turned his gaze off the sexy lingerie. When all the articles were packed in two rosy gift bags wrapped with satin rosy ribbons, he handed his credit card to pay the bill. Then he let a tip to the sales assistant who thanked him with shining eyes.  
When he arrived at his place, he unloaded the trunk of his car and carried all his purchases in the elevator, blocking the door. Then he carried all the bags in his home. He tidied the food in the fridge and in the closet. He needed to shower and change his clothes. He undressed and hanged up his suit in the bedroom closet. In the bathroom, he shaved his two days beard and brushed his teeth then he showered under a warm water that wiped away his tiredness. He washed his hair and stayed under the water spray a long time. After drying himself, he perfumed himself with his preferred cologne then he dressed in blue jeans and blue teeshirt, and fresh socks. He gathered all the clothes off him and put them in the washing machine with washing liquid and turned it on.

He started to prepare the dinner. First a salad with advocates, shrimps and pineapple, then salmon with sesame seared with olive oil with grilled zucchini and eggplants, and lemon-flavored rice for Lisa and beefsteak with a pepper sauce and grilled vegetables for him. In dessert he had vanilla ice cream with fresh strawberries, he knew she liked it. The salmon and the beefsteak will be cooked at the last minute. But he prepared the salad, the vegetables, and the rice, the pepper sauce in advance. He set the table on the dining table, with champagne glasses. He was content to receive Lisa in his place, he was so in love with her, she loved his loft, she told him that it was her home.

He jumped when he heard a knock at his door. He seized his gun on the counter and strode to the door. He looked into the peephole and recognized Lisa. He put his gun in the back of his waistband and opened the door; he moved aside to let her come on in. He closed and locked the door. He immediately held her in his arms and they kissed passionately until they were breathless. She was holding a bag that he took off her hand and put it on a chair.

"My baby, I longed for this moment, six days without you." He lifted her up so her head was at the same level as his.

"John, finally we are here together, my treasure." He plunged his tongue into her open mouth and gave her a deep demanding kiss, moaning in pleasure.

He roamed his hands in her back and her sides then he caressed her breasts and her neck. When they broke the kiss, they were suffocating for air and they laughed in happiness. John looked at her and he noticed how she was fresh and beautiful in a flimsy short pleated rosy dress with black leaf designs, sleeveless and tied behind the neck with a knot. She wore black and rosy medium heeled sandals.

"Hmm, you are really beautiful in that summer rosy dress, sweetheart. I gonna to regret removing it later, my princess." He said with his soft low voice.

"It belongs to my aunt. I found it so pretty that I couldn't resist to wear it. This dress is older than me." She giggled.

"Come on and sit at the table. What is it, this bag?" He asked, showing the bag on the chair.

"French white wine, and our tomorrow breakfast." She said with an impish look. He looked into the bag.

"Oh, Colombian coffee, croissants, bread, jam, eggs, sausages, bacon, milk." He cleared the food in the fridge and in the closet when enumerating the elements.

Then he poured two flutes of the icy champagne. They toasted and took a sip of the beverage.

"It's so moving to me to come back in your loft, John. It recalled so much happy moments." She whispered in a broken voice.

John took her hand in his and kissed her palm. His warm lips pressed on her skin sent shivers along her spine.

"Many happy moments will come along our life, Lisa. I will do everything to make you happy and for you love me yet until the end of our life." He murmured, looking at her with devotion.

She was ready to cry of joy but she restrained, tonight was an evening of reunion and love, she didn't want to waste this time with tears, she wished to be cuddled like a precious thing by John. He sensed that she was perturbed seeing her troubled face so he leaned his cheek on her palm and put his hand on hers. She deep sighed and let out a breath of relief, the calm pressure of John's hand on hers and the caress of his cheek on her fingers regained her some tonus. She took a sip of champagne and gave a large smile to John. He drunk his glass and filled them again.

"What did you cook, treasure?" She asked with curiosity.

"You will see." He stood up and went to the fridge; he returned with the salad and a bottle of fresh white wine.

"Let me guess: a salad with an advocate, shrimps and apple head, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. How it is well set, I love that, John." She complimented him.

"Thank you. It's simple, you know. Let me serve you." He served her, he was content she appreciated the starter.

"How were these six days, baby?" John demanded.

"The publicity campaign is finished. It will give a good image of the Riviere enterprise. TV starts to broadcast spots with images of our products. We have just to wait for the repercussion on the growth."

"Yes, I remember, I watched this TV spot with Shaw. Beautiful sexy girl, you chose even if we don't see her face. I suppose she had no choice. I noticed she had the same tattoo than you, Lisa!" He chuckled and winked to show that he knew it was her. Really, John was impressed by her performance, her beauty, and her commitment.

She stopped eating and blushed. He had recognized her but he didn't take offense.

"It was the idea of the photographer. At first view, I disagreed but he convinced me to be involved when he said that my face would be shaded. Plus he signed a contract of confidentiality." She stuttered.

"You played it as a queen, you don't know how you are beautiful, my princess, I'm proud of you. Don't worry, I love all the pictures you showed on the screen, even Shaw seemed interested. People will love too, but not as strong as me, sweetheart." He breathed, squeezing her hand.

"Please, eat, Lisa." He said with kind eyes, serving the white wine.

They ate the salad, Lisa regained her good mood.

"And you John, who did you save this time?" She asked him.

"It was a long an complicated case. I prefer not to talk about it, baby." He sighed with relief.

"Well, you are subject to the duty of confidentiality, I understand, I know how it works." She answered with a few disappointment.

"I'm going to cook our main course. Stay seated, please." He stood up and unset the plates from the table.

John strode to the kitchen and put the dirty plates in the sink. He put on a cooking apron and he started to grill the thick slice of salmon coated with sesame in a frying pan with olive oil. He roasted it as just-right cooking to get it tender and moist. He warmed the plate of grilled vegetables and rice in the microwave. Then he set the fish in the plate with a cup of lemon juice mixed with olive oil and white wine. Quickly after, he roasted the beefsteak while he warmed his plate of vegetables and the pepper sauce in the microwave.

John took off the cooking apron and came back with the two plates that he set onto the table. Lisa was biting one of her nails nervously. She was thinking of the work John executed every day to save people and that was eating her brain now. She stopped when he sat in front of her. He gazed at her and took her hand to look at the damage on her fingers. He shook his head.

"Since when are you bitting your nails?" He questioned her.

"Since now. Oh John, what a lovely plate of fish." She tasted the salmon and closed her eyes.

"Hum, it's so delicious, you really have a natural gift for cooking."

"Why are you bitting your nails, sweetheart. You never did that." He insisted to get a clear answer, he started to eat his beefsteak. He felt that she was into the defensive, she was going to argue with him.

"I worry for you, treasure." She gazed at him with concern then she continued to savor the thick slice of salmon.

"You don't have to. All these days, I worked with Shaw, always. All was all right." He tried to comfort her.

She said nothing because she didn't wish to ruin the current moment. But she might tell him later that it wasn't only these days. It was always. At night, when she was alone, she was scared, she was so scared, she had nightmares where he bled and died in her arms. She woke up crying, panting and screaming his name.

They finished their plates. She helped John to unset the table and to dispatch the dishes in the dishwasher. Then he prepared two vanilla ice cream sundaes with strawberries and the fresh bottle of champagne on a tray. John switched off the light in the kitchen. They sat on the couch an put the tray on the coffee table. He locked his eyes with hers and smiled; he took her hand and kissed her fingers.

"You remember, the last time, you ate all the strawberries with two ice cream sundaes." He sucked her fingertips gently.

"I'm so full now that I will let all of them to you. My dress squashes my waist." He was turning her on, sucking her fingers like that.

"Not for long." He whispered with his soft low voice, looking at her beautiful figure in her rosy dress of tulle.

"My love, I have a present for you." John handed her the Victoria Secret bags he had placed under the coffee table.

She raised her eyebrows and smiled happily at the thought that John liked to please her so much.

"I think I guess what it is." She said opening the bags.

She pulled out the clothes one by one, exclaiming like a little girl in front of her Christmas presents. She did not know anymore where to give eyes. Bras, panties, pajamas, swimsuits, all the lingerie was refined and tasteful. John looked at her with an amused and tender smile, he never tired of admiring his ingenuousness and spontaneity.

"Many thanks, my treasure, It's a wonderful gift." She turned to him and hugged her passionately to kiss him. She was moved.

"Did you choose everything?" She asked cheerfully.

"Absolutely, I chose what I liked, baby, you'll wear them for me." He murmured with a soft voice and an octave lower.

Together, they put the lingerie in the bags and started to enjoy their dessert. They appreciated their desserts and Lisa fed John with all her strawberries that he accepted with pleasure. They drank a flute of champagne. He rolled his arm around her waist and caressed her back then he pulled her to lean on his shoulder. His hand snaked behind her neck and around her head. He kissed the side of her face and enticed her to sit on his lap. His arms curled around her and she felt him nuzzle into her neck and murmured softly:

"I just want to thank you for being my reason to look forward to the next day. I can't promise that things will be perfect, but I swear I will never leave you."

"John, I never met someone like you, so loving, so soft, so attentive. You are perfect to me." She replied with a short breath.

They kissed with tenderness and softness, their eyes closed and fingers entwined.

"I would love to listen to some music, my treasure." She demanded to lighten the tension that started to install between them.

John stood up and search in a box of music CDs. He extracted one and inserted it into the CD's reader. The wonderful soft voice of Elvis singing 'I Can't Help Falling In Love With You' filled the room. He handed his hand to Lisa to invite her to dance. She stood up and cuddled in his arms. He held her tightly, swaying softly, rocking her as a baby. He kissed her forehead and caressed her hair in the back of her neck. His other hand slid down along her back, her waist and up to her shoulder blades. She was fisting his tee-shirt and trembling, she felt his erection pushing on her pubis and a hot wet wave burning between her legs. She bent her head back, he slowly lowered his face and he gave her a soft kiss that quickly turned into a full and devastating one and that ignited a fire in all her body. She moaned loudly in his famished mouth, he deepened the kiss moaning too of pleasure. She slid her hands under his tee-shirt and caressed his sides and his chest. Shivers ran all over his body under her hands, he was in need of her caresses and kisses, he longed to make love to her since she entered his loft tonight.

"Baby, baby, I need you so bad, I love you so strong." He held her so tightly as if he was afraid she flew away.

He cherished her to deep within the core of his being With an overwhelming urge to protect her, to make her happy to make them both happy. He needed her, every fiber of him wanted to be with her. He picked her up in his arms and strode to the bedroom with his precious burden. He laid her delicately in the middle of the bed and he kneeled at the bottom of the bed. He started undressing her; removing one of her sandals he sucked gently her toes. She giggled because she was ticklish but he held firmly her foot, loving her joyful laughter. He removed her other sandal and gave to her toes the same sucking that made her laugh even more. He straddled her to untie the knot of her dress behind her neck. He searched and found the zipper of the dress on the side. He slowly unzipped her dress and lowered it on her hips. She lifted her hips up to help him take off her dress. John saw her chest heaving and falling quickly that indicated she was excited. He admired her body wearing only a satin rosy panty and a strapless bra. He hovered over her on his knees and hands and landed lightly on her to kiss each inch of her face. She closed her eyes and gave him her mouth to burn in his.

'And I Love You So' sang Elvis.

'And I love you so  
That people ask me how  
How I've lived 'til now  
I tell them I don't know

I guess they understand  
How lonely life has been  
But life began again  
The day you took my hand

And yes I know how lonely life can be  
The shadows follow me  
And the night won't set me free  
But I don't let the evening get me down  
Now that you're around me

And you love me, too  
Your thoughts are just for me  
You set my spirits free  
I'm happy that you do'

She removed his tee-shirt without he said nothing. She took off his gun from his waistband and put it on the nightstand before to unbuckle his belt and unbutton his jeans. He wanted to take off her bra. She didn't let him do it.

"No, please John, you get naked too." She whispered kissing him hotly.

He rolled on his side and undressed completely as she requested. Then he laid on top of her and he unclasped her bra with his expert fingers. Her breasts popped up to his sight and in response, his virile member twitched on her belly. He loved her full rounded and firm breasts, he loved sucking them and nibbling her nipples. She moaned loudly when his hand massaged her breast and his thumb played with her nipples. He took them one by one in his mouth, he sucked and licked them with delight, sending tingles directly in her sex.

"Hmmm, they are soft and they are mine, these two lovely bulges." He murmured while he was sucking hard on them.

She laughed lightly, cupping his head in her hands, she caressed his short hair and his large shoulders and long arms. He was all over her and he adored her and her body. How she loved him, in these passionate moments where she was his only focus, where she was his everything. John let go of her breasts and lifted his mouth up to her neck and her chin. He licked her earlobe and her cheek then he brushed her lips with his and slid the tip of his tongue between them. She parted her lips to give entrance to his tongue. His tongue plunged into her mouth and it started to initiate a dance with hers while his body was crushing her and his throbbing penis was batting against her belly. His left hand caressed her side up to down and lowered her panty down her knees, his left foot finished the work taking it off her. His hand cupped her sex and caressed it, it became moist with her wetness. He looked at her with lust in his eyes. His look full of desire and his searing kiss kindled a wet flame between her legs. She was overwhelmed by this hottest moment where he was totally in charge, controlling his own pleasure and heightening hers.

"John, I love you. I need you. I need your body pressed against mine, your warmth, your smell, the taste of your kiss, your arms wrapped around my curves." She whispered to him in a rush of great desire.

"You are wonderful and divine, baby, you are so wet for me, let me love you, please." He breathed painfully.

He slid down her body trailing kisses till her belly and down under. He spread her legs and slid his head between her legs. While his tongue and lips slowly worked they way up along the inside of her upper leg, he looked up and whispered:

"Spread them wider, you're going to enjoy this."

His lips kissed her little bud of nerves and sucked it gently. Her hips jerked and she moaned his name. He kissed and licked her wet entrance and slowly dived his tongue into it.

"Oh my god, John, stop, please." She pleaded and started crawling up on the bed.

"I haven't even started, baby." He said, lifting his head up and maintaining her hips firmly to prevent her to escape far from his mouth.

Tonight, his foreplays had worked on her as the rocket propellers, she was so in need of him that her sensibility had reached its height. He was going to pleasure her beyond her expectations, he loved when she lost her control and she got in sexual ecstasy in his arms, at this moment she gave it all of her to him. He bent his head down again between her legs and softly entered his tongue into her entrance. He moved it slowly forward and backward, listening to her soft moans and her racing breaths. His mouth applied a little more pressure and she cried his name while her hands were pressing his shoulders and his arms. She arched her back and moaned loudly when he twisted his tongue deeper and he sped a few the back and forth rhythm. He lapped with delight a flow of sugar liquid, moaning a longing 'hmmm' as she tasted so good, then he continued his thrusts more deeply, more softly. She was gripping the sheets and moaning restlessly. He thought she was close to coming, his tongue danced harder and faster till she called him.

"John, yes, John, please, oh my god..." She cried while she shivered from head to toes. Her orgasm rolled down her belly and exploded around the tongue of John. He kept his tongue moving deeper until the last tremors of her walls faded away.

When she was coming down her height, he slid up next to her on his side and held her in his arms. He kissed her forehead and all over her face. He kissed her mouth, she kissed him back with fervor and passion.

"Oh John, I love you so much, you are so patient and so loving with me." She murmured on his lips.

"You are perfect, my baby, everywhere, you are perfect. Love is the day I made you mine. I love you and I always will." John whispered in emotion.

His erected penis was throbbing between them, he wanted to be inside her now, to enter his warm and wet home, to feel good between her arms and her legs. He laid on top of her, locking his dark eyes with hers, he spread her legs wider and pushed his velvet virile member into her inside. He filled her to the hilt and waited for her to adjust.

"Ooh, my God, John, you are so hot into me, what does happen?"

"I feel your inside is hot too. It's so good, baby."

He started to move back and forth with long and deep strokes; she met his thrusts one by one, giving her own strength to rock her body with his. He slid completely off her and slid in deeply, again and again, bringing more energy each time. He gripped her hips to have support in his thrusts. She caressed his chest, his breasts, his belly, and his back, everywhere she could roam her hands, she did. She kissed his face, his neck, his shoulders, his mouth. She was losing slowly her control, the fire was birthing in her belly. John was near to come and was holding back, her pleasure was more important than his. He felt a liquid into her that moistened a few more her inside. He fastened his thrusts when she dug her nails into the flesh of his back.

"Baby, come, come now with me, please." He murmured with his deep voice, plunging his penis deeper into her center restlessly, hitting her G spot. He loved her as though there was someone working 24 hours to take her from him.

"JOOHHNN." She screamed his name when her walls swallowed his cock with heavy and long spasms, appealing his release.

"Oh, baby, baby, so good, haaaarg." John shouted when his life liquid spurted into her in multiple sprays.

He collapsed onto her, holding her tightly in his arms as he was scared she could fly away from him. They stayed entwined for a long moment till they landed on Earth, caressing and kissing. Then John slightly slipped on his side keeping her in his arms. His soft penis dropped off from her inside letting her feel the loss of it. They were exhausted, especially John who was in lack of sleep and spent his last energetic cartridges in a mind-blowing lovemaking. They quickly drifted into a deep and regenerating sleep in the arms of each other.

In the middle of the night, when only the light of the moon lightened the room, he woke up and watched Lisa asleep in his arms. His desire surged when she stuck her body nearer his and she roamed her hand on his side down his thigh. She was his light, his love, his candy; he couldn't help him to make love to her, to pleasure her, to possess her, he loved her like crazy; she loved him too, she loved when he dived into her, she loved his body and his sex, she loved his lips and his kisses, she was never tired of his loving embraces, soft or hard, she loved all of him. He woke up her gently, murmuring that he wanted to love her one more time. He took her hand and put it on his throbbing hard cock. She stroke him, her thumb rubbing the head. He rolled on his back with her and she straddled him. She sat between his thighs and went down on him. She sucked the head of his virile member and all along his cock as he liked it till he came in her mouth with loud groans of pleasure. She kissed him lovingly while he came down from his height and she laid on top of him.

"You are a wonderful lover, my baby, I want to please you too, my love. You trust me, Lisa." John breathed.

"Of course." She replied.

"Crouch on your knees and hands." He commanded.

"What?"

"Crouch on your knees and hands." He commanded again.

She did as he said. He positioned himself on his knees behind her, holding her hips with his hands, he entered her inside by behind in one thrust to the hilt. She cried in surprise at the sensation of complete fulfillment she had never experimented before. John moved backward and forward, using her hips or her shoulders to rock her body on his cock. His penis was rubbing her G spot restlessly giving her the feeling that she was going in paradise pretty soon. She moaned at every move he did into her. One of his hand caressed her back, her breasts and her belly before going down to tickle her clit. His strokes became harder and faster as she was now out of control, panting and moaning in excitation.

"John, John. Ooohh" She shouted before she climaxed hard under his assaults.

"Oh my God, baby, it's so good like that." He rumbled when his precious sperm rained into her.

He continued to slide in and out till her tremors ceased. Then he pulled out of her and laid on his back on the bed, taking her in his arms. He covered himself with her warmth and affection which united them when their souls gave the best of themselves every time they were together. He held her against his chest, he caressed her face and her hair, he kissed her all over her face. She kissed him too with shining eyes.

"You liked it?" He demanded with apprehension.

"Yes, I do, I like all you do to me, treasure. You are wonderful. You are my everything. If I could have anyone in the world, it would still be you." She replied with wet eyelashes.

He took her in a tight embrace, rubbing his cheek against hers. She told him words that he never heard before, she whispered to him these beautiful incredible sounds which filled his heart of happiness.

"I need to shower, you too, I suppose." He murmured.

They stood up and went to the bathroom. Their passion got them involved in a stormy embrace. Pining her back against the cold tiles, grasping her ass, he lifted her thighs up around his waist and teased her folds and her clit with his cock. He entered her fast and hard and started thrusting. In a while, they both fled in Paradise. The bathroom filled with loud shouts and sighs then waves of laughter of bliss.

They showered and dried themselves before returning to bed. Time was 04:00 am. This was really time to sleep for both of them. They cuddled, her back against his chest, entwining their legs and they fell asleep as two flies.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Leave a comment on this chapter. The bond between these two is stronger as ever. Good sex is for John, the manly man, one of the best ways to spoil and keep his sweetheart. He knows that with Lisa he will have to give more, he wants to give more. He wants a future with her, he begins to sow the seeds of his dream and soon he hopes they will grow in real life.


	24. Chapter 24 Streets Of Philadelphia

During my vacation, writing updates takes me some time, please, forgive me.  
I try to stay focus and go on to write new chapters and then finish this story.  
A delightful rest and a new case for John.

Stay with me.  
Warning: some loving scenes, if you dislike, don't read.

* * *

Chapter 24

During his two days off, John invited Lisa to visit Philadelphia. A little over two hours by car, they would be there before noon. He booked one night in one of the most beautiful hotels in the city center. Lisa had to go to her house to take some things. She was excited and happy to go on a trip with John. Far from the incessant agitation of Manhattan, they would be able to live free and together a few hours without danger, just the pleasure of being together.

After she collected a few things at her home, John turned on the highway to Philadelphia. As expected they arrived before noon and they settled in one of the most luxurious suites of the Ritz-Carlton hotel. John had seen things big: a very large space with modern furniture, an extra large bed, a living room, and a dining area, a bathroom and a half with jacuzzi and shower and above all a sensational view of the City Hall.

They showered to relax from the car trip and after an interlude full of fervor and groans, they changed and went out for lunch. There should be a championship event just for Philadelphia s food. As such, there was an incredible array of good food to eat here, there was a story behind every dish. What made up Philly s diverse dining scene? Street food, 300-plus bring-your-own-bottle (BYOB) restaurants, sidewalk seating reminiscent of European cities, bars with great food, craft pizza spots, vegetarian and vegan eateries, and the storied Reading Terminal Market and Italian Market, and of course, cheesesteaks.

After lunch, they visited a fascinating museum, the Museum of the American Revolution. The galleries within the museum were organized chronologically to take you on a journey from the beginning of the conflict in the 1760s through the creation of the nation. One of the most memorable pieces in the museum was General Washington s Headquarters Tent, an iconic piece of history where President George Washington slept and made world-changing decisions. Then, they sat a moment in a park where they ate ice-creams. Lisa enjoyed these precious moments and seeing John living outside like a normal guy warmed her heart. She rested her head on his shoulder and he rolled his arm around her shoulders, he kissed her forehead and murmured:

"I love you, sweetheart. I see you enjoy your day, I am happy to make you happy, baby."

"I'm happy we are together, wherever we are, treasure." She replied, hugging him.

"Tonight, we are going to watch the football game with the Philadelphia Eagles against the Dallas Cowboys." John announced with a satisfied smile.

"Oh, I have never watched an American football game, this is a first for me." She exclaimed joyfully.

"Baby, you will love it, I promise." He replied.

At the match, John was totally taken in the action. Lisa enjoyed the match and John's pleasure to take party for the Eagles that won 8-1. The Eagles have had to deal with a lot of adversity but they have been able to rise above it. They showed the mark of a truly great team.

"What a great team, these Eagles! The Cowboys problem is that they are obsessed with their logo. They are all about star power. You need premier talent to win in the NFL, yes, but you also need depth. Dallas doesn't have depth." John concluded with pride when his preferred team won.

They returned to the center of the town and they had dinner at Parc restaurant. They felt as though they were gone transatlantic while hanging out at a Parisian-inspired bistro from prolific and James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Stephen Starr. Perched at tables across from Rittenhouse Square, diners could take in views of the park s ever-present foot traffic while supping on the restaurant s crusty fresh bread, onion soup and mussels simmered in dijon broth. At midnight they came back to the hotel. They were a little tired but it was a beneficial fatigue. They were relaxed to be in a "holiday" environment, without hours, without stress, without imperatives.

Once in bed, they made love like never before. John was galvanized to see that Lisa was happy with him, that she appreciated his attention. He made love to her stronger and longer, and she did it well. She called his name to the peak of her pleasure, she gave him an incredible pleasure that completely lost him. They set off together in paradise screaming their names.

"Baby, baby, you're great, you're mine, forever." He whispered to her with an intense emotion, squeezing her until she suffocated.

"You belong to me too, don't forget it." She answered in a warm voice. They cuddled under the comforter and sleep took them.

The morning light awoke them. This was the last day in Philly to spend, so they showered, had breakfast in their room, packed their things and went down in the lobby to give back the keys. They projected to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art that held everything from Medieval relics and an impressive armory collection to works by contemporary creatives like Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and Picasso. They had lunch in a Chinese restaurant, this was a wish of John. They wandered down a shopping street where shops offered souvenirs, clothes, and shoes, books and paintings by local artists. John paid for everything Lisa bought despite her disapproval.

She felt loved as she had never been. It was not a question of money or gifts, she was rich. It was the way he went to meet all her desires in any field. He was exquisite, delicate, affectionate, generous, an outstanding lover. He forgot himself for her, but she knew how to give back what he gave her. She accepted a chaotic life made of unforeseen events, fears, nightmares, crying. She gave him her love in her own way. When they made love, she gave herself to him with all her soul, without inhibition, because it was him, because she trusted him. He had made her a true, fulfilling woman. She, a former soldier, engineer and then professor, then heiress of an unexpected fortune, she has always taken care to be pretty and elegant to please herself and to others, to appear pleasant and friendly. When he has chosen her to be his loving partner, he has revealed her as a woman, a desirable and beautiful woman, his woman, the one he loved more than his life. Then, she wished to be really an even more beautiful and desirable woman for him, always sexy, elegant, playful, loving, passionate and sensual. Something she did not know to have: to be sensual to the point of being completely disinhibited, to accept from him all kinds of caresses and amorous and spirited unions which she could not do without. And she returned him with love and ardor.

John looked at her and found her thoughtful. She was looking at him with her beautiful hazel green eyes, a small evasive smile, her shining hair framing her childish face, an enigmatic and admiring look. Sudden emotion squeezed his chest and he leaned toward her.

"You look at me like I'm an apparition, baby, pinch me and you'll see it's me, here, next to you." He laughed and hugged her as if she was going to escape.

"I love you, John, you can't know how much." She murmured, her eyes suddenly shining with tears.

"I love you too, baby, and it will never end, never, you believe me, don't you?"

"Yes, I believe you, my love, I'm so good with you." She whispered in a sigh.

"Okay, so smile!" He took her hand and they left for the last walk in the streets of Philadephia.

* * *

Back in Manhattan, Lisa wanted John to stay with her at home. As they had come back early, she ordered a French meal at David's restaurant next to her home, an entree of salads, roast lamb and crusted fish with seasonal vegetables and fruit pies. John was in the shower when the meal was delivered by the waiter. She started to set the table and lit two candles scented with jasmine. John appeared freshly dressed in a casual tracksuit and a black undershirt.

"Go shower, darling, I'll take care of the rest." He said kissing her in the neck.

"Thank you, my love, you are adorable."

She took a shower and went to the dressing room to get dressed. Among the underwear coordinated that John had offered her, she chose a very indented bra and black silk panties. Her firm and round breasts were barely covered by the fabric and her panties were a mini triangle in front and behind, leaving her buttocks almost bare. She waddled in front of the mirror, standing in profile and back to look at her hyper sexy image and she seemed pleased with her reflection. She put on a light white summer dress with a black belt.  
Back to the kitchen, John looked at her from the head to the foot with an inquisitive air.

"You are sublime in this white dress, my baby." He kissed her on the forehead, hugging her.

'When you see what's underneath, what will you say?' She thought, burying her face in the hollow of his neck.

"Do you want an aperitif, my treasure? I have whiskey, French Champagne, Bourbon."

"Champagne, I know you love, me too." He answered by fetching two flutes and the bottle cool.

John filled the two flutes of Champagne. They toasted and drank half of their glass. He filled the flutes again and went to pick up the varied salad platter. They ate the appetizer while drinking champagne. Finally, the main course was a delight and John started the second bottle of Champagne for dessert.

"No mixing, plus this champagne is light and will not cause a migraine." He said with a wide smile.

Lisa restrained herself from not going off in laughter. She had a little abused of the drink tonight and was slightly tipsy and John was reluctant to serve her again. He took care of her health like a dad. It excited her to see him so thoughtful right now with her knowing that in a short time he would let himself go in her arms. She wanted him tonight and she was trying to hide and curb her desire by throwing herself on a fruit pie.

"Hmm, those fruit pies are delicious." Said John eating his second pie gully.

Lisa was looking at him with satisfaction, he had savored the French meal and he loved fruit pies.

"What?" John said, delicately wiping his mouth with his napkin.

"I would have liked to be in the place of the pie, darling."

Her banter reached its goal beyond she expected. His lips parted and a broad smile appeared on his face, his eyes shining with a dark glow and resting on her mouth.

"You will be, baby, as much as you want, when you want, you just have to ask." His voice was soft and low like the enchanting whisper of the breeze in the branches.

Lisa swallowed hard and moistened her lips with her tongue. He had a way of lighting the fire in her at a distance just with a few words that fascinated her. Seeing her confusion, John got up and approached her.

"Come here." He lifted her from her chair and hugged her.

His hot mouth brushed her forehead as his hands caressed along her sides and back. She hanged against him, grasping his broad shoulders. He pressed his erection against her belly and murmured excitedly:

"I want you like crazy, my love, I will love you from head to feet that you will not even know who you are and me either."

He tilted his head towards hers and his mouth rested on hers in a passionate, deep, hungry kiss. Their tongues began a frantic dance in a murmur of moans. They stopped short of breath to resume again. He pushed her back to press against the wall and push his hips into hers. He lifted up one of her legs to rub his hard cock against her sex. She moaned with pleasure and frustration at the same time. He lifted her against him and placed her against his waist. She hung her legs behind him and kissed him, holding his head in her arms.

"John, John, I .. I need you, my love, I love you."

"I love you like crazy, you are my light, my baby."

He carried her to the bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed with her riding him on his lap. He kissed her all over her face and sucked the lobe of her ear then his mouth went down in her neck that he nibbled while moaning. His hands caressed her breasts through the fabric of her dress before his mouth took over. His free hands lowered to her behind and caressed her buttocks. He moaned in pleasure to feel her skin so soft under his fingers, her tiny panties letting him enjoy her flesh.  
Then his nimble fingers removed her belt and slid the zipper of her dress, then they slipped on her thighs to lift the fabric and remove it from above. Lisa raised her arms to help him take off her dress. She took his cheeks in her hands and kissed him feverishly.  
John's eyes focused on her breasts overflowing with her black silk bra. His hands grabbed them gently and massaged them as his breathing became panting.

"Oh my God, Lisa, you're divine like a goddess."

His mouth pressed on the globes emerging from the fabric, Lisa moaned and pressed herself against his wet and burning mouth. A heat went down in her belly and flooded her sex. John unhooked her bra, which slipped between them and put it on the bed. His eager mouth licked and sucked one breast with an application and nibbled the nipple while his hand kneaded the other. He gave the same attention to the other breast. Lisa felt a fire take possession of her and moaned very hard.

"John, please, love me, make love to me now, get undressed." She urged him.

She was breathing hard and her hand wandered between them to enter his tracksuit and seize his cock stretched like a bow and stroke it.

"Oh, baby, I love you and I will love you till I die, and if there is a life after that, I will love you then" He whispered, breathing hard under her caress.

He put her gently in the middle of the bed and left his clothes. He laid down next to her and caressed her all along her body, he kissed her sex through her panties, noticing how soft and tiny it was before removing it dragging delicately along her pretty legs. He climbed on her and he spread her legs with his knees. He kissed her passionately before drawing a straight line with kisses to her sex. He licked her clit and sucked it gently making her scream his name. Then he fixed his mouth on her entrance and began a back and forth movement with his tongue that made her completely out of control immediately. Lisa tried to free herself from the madness that grabbed her so quickly. He maintained her still and continued his ministrations, softening his strokes to alleviate the pressure. Soon, she gave up her body to his warm and busy mouth feeling that he was taking possession of her in his way; she let him enjoy with building and releasing her orgasm. She screamed his name when she climaxed around his tongue and he groaned when he felt her tremors squeezing it.  
Then, he crawled to lie on her and he kissed her with all his love and passion. He was in a hurry to get inside her, to feel her fire around his cock, to give them even more pleasure by playing with their bodies.

"I want you in me, now, please." She implored.

John guided his cock inside her. He pushed gently into her until he filled her completely. Tears streamed from Lisa's eyes. She stuck to him, hugging him tightly.

"My love, what is it?"

"I just want to hold you close and never let you go." She replied kissing him.

"Look at me in the eyes, hold me a little tighter and smile because I'm not going anywhere."

He made love to her delicately, slowly, softly till he brought them near the edge. Then his thrusts became powerful and wild sending them both in Paradise. She cried his name when her walls trembled around his cock, squeezing it and getting his semen into them. John roared her name in her neck in a long shout. They landed on Earth a few minutes later, kissing each other like it was the last time.

"Baby, you are the personification of beauty and sweetness. I never imagined that a woman like you could love me, even today it seems to me that it is a dream, that I gonna wake up tomorrow and that you never have existed."

"John, you are the most wonderful of men I have ever known. Count on me to pinch you every day and remind you that I'm here with you and that I'll never leave you. I adore you without restraints and that will never ever change."

They hugged tightly and covered with the comforter. Soon they dived in a peaceful sleep.

The vibration of his phone awoke John. He grabbed it on the nightstand and took the call.

"Mr. Reese, sorry to call you so early but we have a number, I'm waiting for you to explain the case."

"Okay, Finch, I'm coming."

John slowly moved away from Lisa's embrace, being careful not to wake her. He kissed her tenderly on the forehead and got up to take a shower. Then he went to dress in the dressing room; he had suits and shirts that she had bought for all occasions; he did not have to go to his house for that, just for weapons and ammunition sometimes. He made coffee and a quick breakfast so as not to leave on an empty stomach and ate up. He heard Lisa call him and headed for the room.

"You're leaving already?" she told him.

"Finch just called me, I have to go, baby."

He put on his jacket and put his revolver in the back of his waistband.

She held out her arms for him to come and say goodbye. He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned over her to kiss her passionately. They hugged each other with force and emotion. Lisa was clinging to him and kissing his face everywhere.

"Be careful, my treasure and come back to me tonight, promise me." She implored him with a voice broken by anxiety and fear.

"I promise you to be careful but I never know in advance when a case is closed. I call you, don't worry." He replied by stroking her hair in the back of her neck.

"I go." One last kiss and he got up to go to the door.

He went out without turning, his heart torn by the anguish that Lisa felt for him. He felt guilty that she was so tormented. But saving innocent people was his job, his vocation, it was in his genes.

* * *

On the way, he stopped to buy Finch's tea and two black coffees. When he arrived at Finch's library, he saw him tapping his keyboard with dexterity.

"Good morning, Mr. Reese, thanks for the tea."

"Good morning, Finch, so who are we dealing with today?"

Shaw appeared in turn, repressing a yawn.

"Good morning, you too"

"Hello, Ms. Shaw." Finch answered very politely.

"Hi, Shaw." John told her.

"Reese, I hope you were not too horny when your phone rang!" She swung at John.

"Stop, Shaw, please." He replied, excited.

"Our number is an agent at Grand Central Station. He is a conductor and has been driving convoys for twenty years. Richard Brillant, age 45. Good worker, well rated, married for 20 years with Rachel Cook, two pre-teens in college, apparently everyone, no gap at work nor in his private life, at least I didn't find anything that supposes that he made one, he goes from time to time to have a drink with colleagues after work but he returns home early and well right, here is the synopsis. " Announced Finch pinning the image of Richard Brillant on the glass board.

"Okay, let's do the usual quick investigation." Said Reese drinking his coffee.

"I'm going to search his house for things that might shed some light on the personality of our issue." He pursued.

"His wife is not working and may be at home." Finch threw.

Shaw intervened, slipping next to John.

"I will take care of Ma'ame while the Tall Dark Beauty sniffs in the drawers."

John shrugged and looked at the ceiling so as not to explode.

"Good idea, Ms. Shaw." Finch said with a smirk.

The pair exited the library without a word. John took his phone in hand and texted Lisa while walking.

"I kiss you everywhere, my love, I miss you, I love you."

Immediately, he received an answer from her.

"I love you even more, my treasure, come back to me quickly." John smiled and his heart swelled with happiness to think he was loved and his return was expected.

Shaw was driving to the home of Richard Brillant. They arrived at Brillant's home and parked their car two blocks away. The building had four stories and Brillant lived on the second floor. They slowly approached the door and listened to the sounds coming from the apartment. Everything seemed calm except for the sound of the TV, but they decided to come in smoothly, noiselessly. John silently crocheted the lock, which left Shaw panting again, although she knew his technique. He opened the door softly, his gun in his hand and stomped into the corridor. Shaw followed three feet behind him, soft as a wildcat, she closed the door quietly.

As he walked into the living room, John saw Mrs. Brillant sitting on the couch, her feet and wrists tied, and a strap on her mouth. John motioned to Shaw to stop and observe the utmost silence. They hid behind the wall. They heard a flush that suggested someone was in the bathroom. A man came to sit in the armchair in front of the TV by zipping up his jeans.

"I have the slab, have you some hose to eat in the fridge?"

Mrs. Brillant nodded. The man got up and went to the kitchen. He was young, blond, tall and thin. A pistol was half-buried in his jeans behind his back, and an assault rifle resting on the living room table. John motioned to Shaw to be ready to intervene. The man walked to the fridge, passing near the wall where they were hidden and turning abruptly he drew his weapon but not fast enough, leaving John a microsecond ahead of him to shoot a ball in the kneecap. John picked up the revolver while the young man was writhing in pain holding his leg. Shaw freed Mrs. Brillant from her bonds and her gag. Mrs. Brillant trembled and couldn't speak. John yawned the injured man and tied him up. Then he turned to Mrs. Brillant.

"Mrs. Brillant, we're here to help you, explain to us calmly what happened."

Upon hearing John's calm and gentle voice, she managed to regain her wits and began to narrate the events.

"My husband went to work this morning, as usual, half an hour after that man knocked on my door pretext to bring me a registered letter, I opened and he came in and tied me up and gagged on. Then he called someone saying the package was packaged and ready for shipping. He then received regular calls to which he replied that he was checking that the parcel was compliant. " She closed her eyes, realizing that something serious was happening.

"How much the calls were spaced?" John asked Mrs. Brillant.

"I don't know, thirty minutes, an hour or less." John looked at Shaw and shrugged, Mrs. Brillant was shocked and unable to give a point on this.

Shaw had searched the guy who had fainted and handed the papers to John.

John called Finch.

"Finch, we have a problem. Mrs. Brillant was tied up and gagged at home by an armed guy that we neutralized, held hostage. But he is not alone, he receives calls from someone who controls the situation regularly. His name is Dave McCauley, I send you his identity and his picture."

"Mr. Reese, I'm afraid Mr. Brillant is getting into a story where he doesn't want to be and his wife has been a leverage. I'm going to find out what train he's in this morning. Stay with Mrs. Brillant to answer the calls this man will receive. I call the detectives, as soon as they arrive you let them know and then you have to find Mr. Brillant and get on his train."

Suddenly the man's phone rang. John seized it and took the call.

"What's up, Dave?" A raspy voice demanded.

"I'm checking that the package is compliant." John answered in a muffled voice.

"You got a funny voice, suddenly"

"I have a full mouth, I was hungry," said John, praying that the subterfuge was not discovered.

"Okay, see you later."

Twenty minutes later, detectives Carter and Fusco joined John and Shaw. After a full debriefing, John and Shaw hurried outside to join the train.

John tapped his earpiece.

"Hey, Finch, we are going to the Central station. Mrs. Brillant is safe and the detectives stay with her to check the phone calls. What's news?" Asked John.

"Mr. Reese, Mr. Brillant is going to conduct the train number 281 from New York Grand Central Terminal to Albany 525 East St, Rensselaer. The departure is at 10:20 AM and the arrival at Albany at 1:45 PM. There are 9 stops till Yonkers station, then the train is direct. Time is 9:30 AM. You have to buy your tickets at the station then go into train 281 before his departure. Otherwise, the only way is to take it before Yonkers station."

"Okay, Finch. We hurry to the Grand Central. Keep us informed about the schedule of the train."

They drove through the traffic to the Grand Central Terminal Station and parked their car in a lot. Time was 10:10 AM. They ran into the huge train station lobby. Finch was guiding John to the ticket counter to get two tickets for Albany. Then he gave them the track number to join the wharf. They rushed towards the wharf and had just enough time to board before the doors closed. John tapped his earpiece.

"We're on the train, and we're going up the cars to the locomotive to watch the passengers." Whispered John.

"Mr. Reese, I advise you to stay together and protect each other, wait until the train comes out so that I can tell you how many cars there are, try to control who gets on the train at the stops."

"Finch, could this train be a special convoy that would transport known people or goods coveted?

"Perhaps, I did not see any articles in the press about this eventuality but this says that kind of transit must remain secret so as not to attract the predators."

"Mr. Reese, the train is in the open, the convoy has ten cars. I see two motor cars, one at the front and the other at the back, in front of the rear motorcar there is a car with a flat roof, unlike the others where the roof is curved. It is not a passenger car."

"Okay, Finch. We progress first toward the back of the train."

"I will lose the sight of the train as no more cameras are on its way. Be careful, John."

John smiled as Finch was caring about him.

* * *

Thanks for reading. Please leave a comment to say what you think of this chapter. Always, love and action, it's John's daily life now. A loving woman and a dedicated job, what else!


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